Better
by LeaderofBrooklyn
Summary: It started with three cases. One in New York, one in Texas, and one in California. They all woke up as a different person than before. More similar cases are appearing across the United States. Doctors have concluded that it is schizophrenia- but could it be something more?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: It's my third "story," do I have to put this again?**

* * *

_Date: June 7__th__. _

_Location: Jefferson Institution, Manhattan, New York. _

The Jefferson Institution- a renowned mental hospital known for curing the most intense cases of any mental disorder ever known. Home to the most intelligent doctors and the latest in medical technologies, it is every doctor's dream to go work there. The security is state of the art. Making sure it's prisone- I mean patients are locked up tight and won't endanger the public.

Last week, the Jefferson Institution acquired a new patient. His family admitted him to the institution last week, claiming that their son was "not right." According to the patient's family, their son just woke up one day and claimed to be another person. Based on examination, the doctor's at the Jefferson Institution deducted that their son had schizophrenia and to undergo treatment immediately.

The situation seemed to be normal, until two other mental institutions called in claiming similar cases. One of them was from an institution in California. The other one was from Texas. Both cases were transferred to the Jefferson Institution immediately.

But the oddest thing about these three patients was not that they all had schizophrenia, but they all knew each other, despite having never met. The specialists talked to each of their families, trying to find evidence that they _had _met before. None were found.

These are the files of these three patients.

**Name: **John Hopkins

**Age: **17

**Eye Color: **Green.

**Height: **6'0

**Description:** Patient has black hair, tall and tanned, despite not being an "outside person." Top of his class and achieves good grades, won numerous awards for achievements. He has glasses , is near sighted. Family and friends describe him as quiet and well mannered.

**Diagnosis: **Schizophrenic; thinks that he is a guy named "Percy Jackson." He is also believed to be delusional. Examinations say that he often talks about things like the Greek gods and monsters, acts quite differently from himself. Very short tempered, but laid back. Seems to be a natural leader. He often asks where a lot of people are, one example of this is for an "Annabeth Chase."

* * *

**Name:** Samantha McAllister

**Age: **18

**Eye Color: **Brown

**Height:** 6'2

**Description: **She is apparently "popular," at school. Friends and family describe her as a "girly-girl." Patient has a well-built body, apparently is the captain of the girls' volleyball team. Has long, light brown hair. Nails are perfectly manicured and the hair is styled. Wears a lot of pink.

**Diagnosis: **Schizophrenic; thinks that she is a girl named "Clarisse La Rue." She shows similar symptoms as John Wilkins. "Clarisse La Rue" can be described as prone to violence and arrogant, very proud and defensive. Does not seem to like "Percy Jackson." Doctors are advised to not anger "Clarisse La Rue."

* * *

**Name: **Benjamin Thomson

**Age: **17

**Eye Color: **Brown

**Height: **5'3

**Description: **Patient has short, curly brown hair, with notable elf-like ears. He is described as serious and apathetic. Classmates describe him as "creepy." Has a natural talent in developing plans and is a _very _fast runner.

**Diagnosis: **Schizophrenic; thinks that he is a guy named "Travis Stoll." He is constantly asking where another person is who goes by the name of "Connor Stoll." It is unknown whether this "Connor Stoll" exists. He shows the same symptoms as the other two patients. "Travis Stoll" can be described as very energetic and tricky. Has shown that he is very capable of stealing items. Doctors are advised to keep anything valuable away from him.

As examinations continue, we realized that these cases are more serious than we had initially thought. All three patients claim that they're demigods, more specifically Greek. They're parents are the Greek gods. "Percy Jackson" is the son of Poseidon, "Clarisse La Rue" is the daughter of Ares, and "Travis Stoll" is the son of Hermes."

Our doctors at the Jefferson Institute thought it would stop with those three, but apparently not. Over the course of one month, several new cases have developed from all over the United States. All of these cases were transferred to the Jefferson Institute.

The new cases show similar symptoms of the original three, they all claim to be different people and the children of gods (Greek and Roman). This disease does not seem to affect a specific type of person in any age range or race. Likewise, the patients seemed to know each other.

Doctors at the Jefferson Institute has coined a new term for this disease, _error semideum._

* * *

**To be honest, I have no idea where this story is going. I don't even have a solid plot yet, but if at least two people say that I should continue this, than I will. **


	2. Chapter 2

**At the request of three reviewers, I will continue this story. But I got to say, this chapter is not my best work. I already have chapter 3 written and that one is better in my opinion. Ir should be up by Saturday. **

**Just a little heads up, the parts that are in italics are the nurse's notes. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson. **

* * *

_We're living in a den of thieves. _

_Rummaging for answers in the pages. _

_We're living in a den of thieves. _

_And it's contagious. _

_-Us, By Regina Spektor_

* * *

Nurse Jones was intrigued by the three newcomers at the Jefferson Institution.

Since they came, Nurse Jones has been charged with overseeing them and examining them. Never before she had seen such curious people and it was entertaining to see the three teenagers interact with each other.

It's been one week since they came here and they caused quite a ruckus at the acclaimed institution. They all insisted to be called by their other personas, much to the dismay of the doctors. But they soon realized it was for the best when one of the doctors almost got killed for calling the girl "Samantha."

Right now, the three patients were having free time in the foyer, with Nurse Jones carefully observing their movements and taking notes with her pencil.

"When do you think we'll get out of this joint?" asked the curly haired boy, other wise known as 'Travis Stoll.' "I'm getting bored. The doctors here are all uptight and won't let me do _anything._"

The green eyed boy, Percy Jackson, frowned. ''Dunno really. I really hope the others are okay. I wonder where are they?"

The girl, Clarrise La Rue, rolled her eyes. "Man, this sucks. Why can't we break out of this? Every second that I'm stuck with you," she pointed at Percy, "I feel like I want to break something."

_Clarisse La Rue shows a tendency to violence. Must keep an eye on her in case she escapes. The Jackson boy seems indifferent to this preposition and it seems that Stoll agrees with Clarrise. _

"As Chiron would've said 'now, now, Clarrisse. Violence is never the answer.'" Travis quoted. "Calm down. Eventually we'll get out of here."

"And when is 'eventually' Stoll?" Clarrise argued. "One month, one year, one decade? Are we even going to get out of this damn institution?"

"I have to agree with Travis here," Percy interrupted. "This isn't Camp Half-Blood- where the worst thing that could happen to you is clean up after the pegasi. This is the Jefferson Institution, where its doctors will do anything to 'cure' their patients. It's better to stay here anyway. Any one of our friends could show up here."

The daughter of Ares had a scowl on her face but agreed with Percy. "…Fine then." She got up from her seat and went back to her room.

Travis watched as she left and made sure that she was out of ear shot. He grinned. "You saved us from the wrath of what is Clarrise La Rue. Nice job!"

"I guess," he responded. He then had a sad smile on his face. "I just wish Annabeth was here though…"

The son of Hermes made a reassuring face. "Don't worry. She and the others will turn up eventually. They're demigods, they'll find their way back to each other. Heck, look at me!" He smiled. "Even though I don't know where my siblings are at, I'm still keeping up an optimistic attitude!"

_Travis Stoll mentioned a "Chiron" and Percy Jackson mentioned a "Camp Half-Blood" These terms have been mentioned in their previous conversations and seem very important to them. Chiron trained demigods in the ancient Greek myths, this would be expected since they claim that they are "demigods."_

_Percy Jackson also mentioned an "Annabeth" again. He seems to care very much for this girl. Travis Stoll also stated that he had siblings. The only sibling that was so far said was a "Conner Stoll." But based on records, he is an only child. _

The nurse shook her head. Is this one of the symptoms of _error semideum_? The girl at one point also said that she had some too. Percy has yet to mention any of his.

She felt a little sad for the patients. They were only teenagers and they had their lives ruined by this disease. Treatments have been prescribed for them, but the only effect those had were making them a little tired (and irritated). It looked like they were going to stay at the Jefferson Institutions for the rest of their lives.

"Nurse Jones," an announcement said. "Please report to Doctor Rinaldi's office immediately. Thank you."

"I wonder what he wants with me?" thought the nurse. She quickly got up from her spot and walked towards his office.

* * *

Doctor Rinaldi's office was large and spacious, looking out on the New York City skyline. The room was white and tidy, with various awards arranged neatly on the walls. In the back was his desk, which had papers and files littered on the brown surface. The doctor himself was behind this desk, scribbling something down on a piece of paper.

The woman walked toward the end of the room and sat in the chair seated in front of the desk.

"Doctor Rinaldi?" she said. "I'm here."

The man looked up with a startled expression on his face. "Oh, err, sorry. I forgot that I called you up here."

The nurse put on a small smile. "It's fine. How may I help you?"

The doctor cleared his throat. "Nurse Jones," Doctor Rinaldi said. "I understand that your're in charge for John Hopkins, Samantha McAllister, and Benjamin Thomson?"

The brunette nodded. "Yes sir."

The doctor leaned back in his chair. "I just wanted to tell you that two more patients are coming here." He slid two files in front of her. "One is from Louisiana, and the other one is from Italy."

Nurse Jones raised an eyebrow at the second one. "Italy? All the other patents have been exclusively found in the United States. Does this mean that the disease doesn't just affect Americans?" She continued reading the files. "They're even younger than the other three. The oldest is just 14."

Doctor Rinaldi shook his head. "To be honest I don't know. I've gotten word that other people from other countries are showing signs of _error semideum, _though to a lesser degree. The most recent one being in Canada. This disease is truly baffling to be. In all my 20 years of working as a doctor, this is the first disease that I've ever encountered like this."

The nurse didn't really know how to respond to this. She just nodded uncertainly and said "yes sir."

"Alright then," the doctor said. "I'm sorry for intruding into your work. You may leave now."

Nurse Jones got up from her seat. "Thank you Doctor Rinaldi." She took the two files on his desk and left the room.

* * *

As she was walking, Nurse Jones examined the files that the doctor had given to her. The two new patients would be arriving to the Jefferson Instittute tomorrow at 8:30 A.M sharp. She better let the other three know ahead of time.

She found the three teenagers still in the foyer, talking among each other.

"…and that's why Tyson and I are banned from entering Hephaestus's forge for the next 10 years," Percy finished.

Clarrisse had a slightly confused look on her face. Though, Travis looked like he was on the verge of laughing.

Nurse Jones stepped in front of them, mustering up the most calmest expression on her face. "I've got some important news to tell you guys."

All three of the teenagers stopped their chatter and looked up to the nurse wondering what was so "important" about the news.

"I just wanted to say that two more people with the same disease as you are coming tomorrow morning."

Percy's face instantly lighted up. "What are their names?" he asked.

"Jamie Wilson and Christopher Vargas."

Naturally, they didn't recognize _those_ names.

"Who are those people?" Clarrisse snorted.

The nurse realized her mistake and looked through the files for their _other _names.

"Do you guys happen to know a Hazel Levesque and a Nico di Angelo?" she corrected.

A silence enveloped between the four of them. The teenagers were processing this information withing their brains.

Travis Stoll decided to break that silence by saying what the other two wanted to say (well, in a sense).

"Like, no way! Emo Boy and his sister are coming here!"

* * *

**I hoped you liked this installment of _Better_. More are on the way soon! I think I have an idea for the plot for this story. But I don't think it makes sense and a tad confusing, at least to me that is. **

**Next chapter will have of course, Hazel and Nico. How will the doctors of the Jefferson Institution react to a daughter of Pluto and a son of Hades?**


	3. Chapter 3

**In which, the plot starts moving a little bit. **

**Disclaimer: Me no own PJO.**

* * *

_It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. _

_-Carl Sagan_

* * *

As usual, the two newcomers arrived tomorrow morning at 8:30 sharp. Their names? Jamie Wilson and Christopher Vargas. The girl, Jamie, is from New Orleans, Louisiana. The other one, Christopher, is from Italy. Like the other patients, they show the signs of _error semideum. _However, in these cases, they were much more…unique.

**Name: **Jamie Wilson

**Age: **14

**Eye Color: **Gold

**Height: **5'0

**Description: **African-american with long, curly, brown hair. Family describes her as a "friendly and outgoing girl." Her other personality is "Hazel Levesque." Shows extreme delusions about her past. Believes that she was born during World War II and is the daughter of Pluto. This one's personality does not differ that much from the original. Claims that Christopher Vargas is her brother, but DNA tests beg to differ.

**Name: **Christopher Vargas

**Age: **14

**Eye Color: **Dark

**Height: **5'3

**Description: **Italian, has an olive complexion and dark hair. Quite optimistic and generally quiet. His other personality is "Nico di Angelo." The only thing that these two personalities have in common is that they're both quiet. "Nico di Angelo" is rather depressing and subject to mood swings. Grim and an introvert. Cares for "Hazel Levesque" very much. Like Jamie Wilson, he seems to have deluded himself into thinking he was born during the 1930's.

Nurse Jones nodded at these files. At least these three would have some other company other than each other. She was afraid that at least one of them will get hurt by the other (the likely candidates are Percy Jackson and Clarrisse La Rue). Though, despite all of them having schizophrenia, they acted relatively calm- not at all like _some _other patients that she knew.

In a way, she could picture them as demigods. They showed ah, inhuman capabilities. Earlier today, Clarrisse punched a wall in frustration. She managed to dent the wall, but she didn't seem the last bit dazed or hurt. When they went to the pool, Percy showed that he can stay underwater for 10 minutes without going up. He could've stayed there for a longer time, maybe even forever, until Travis started throwing various things at him. In fact, Travis Stoll was pretty normal compared to his companions.

_Clarrisse seems to exhibit super-human strength and enhanced endurance, as expected from a "child of Ares." Percy can stay underwater for extended periods of time. When he got out, he wasn't even wet. I asked him about this and he just shrugged responding with a "I can get wet if I want to." _

The nurse smiled. They were so amusing to watch. Perhaps with Jamie and Christopher, it would get even more entertaining. She loved her job.

The two teenagers walked into the foyer while the others were doing some other stuff. Percy and Clarisse were engaged in an arm wrestling match. It was unclear who would win, but Clarrisse had a smirk on her face while Percy had beads of seat running across his face. Travis was being calm for once and was currently dozing on a window sill.

"Percy!" Hazel cried.

The green-eyed boy stopped what he was doing and looked up at Hazel with relief. Though, he lost the match because of this- causing Clarrisse to jump off from her seat shouting, "Suck it Jackson!"

Clarrisse's exclamation then caused Travis to abruptly wake up and fall off from his seat. But he was happy to see more of his friends okay to say the least.

Travis put his hand into a position for a high five. "What's up guys?!"

Nico just scowled and ignored the the son of Hermes. But Hazel happily took it and her hand was just about to make contact when…

"Psych!" Travis laughed. He put his hand down leaving Hazel nothing to grasp but air.

Clarrisse smiled. She hated to admit it, but she felt relief for the demigods. She didn't know them that well, in fact that Nico kid freaked her out. But she saw what they could do on the battlefield and she respected them for that.

For Percy, he was ecstatic of the new arrivals.

Biggest.

Understatement.

_Ever_.

He tackled hugged both of them to the ground, much to the annoyance to Nico di Angelo.

"I'm so glad that you guys are okay!" Percy said.

_Percy Jackson, Clarrisse La Rue, and Travis Stoll all show signs of happiness as soon as they saw the new arrivals. I wonder how they know each other so well…This is truly an anomaly. _

_Based on Hazel's files, she is the daughter of Pluto, a Roman god. All the rest are Greek. I don't understand how they can get a long with each other. I guess she and Nico can get along with each other since they're "siblings." But what about the others? Don't the Greeks resent the Romans for conquering them hundreds of years ago? _

Hazel smiled. "Thanks. You too. We were worried that the rest of you guys wouldn't be here." She got up and dusted off some particles off her clothes.

"How are you doing Emo Boy?" Travis said.

Nico gave him an icy glare. "How many times do I have to tell you? I am not emo. Just because I look all depressed, doesn't mean that I like to cut myself. But I'm fine thank you for asking." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, are the other's here beside you three?"

"Nah, it's just me, Clarrisse, and Travis, plus you two," Percy answered. "If the same thing thing that happened to us happens to them, then the other's will make their way here too."

"Speaking of which, how _did_ you guys get here?" Nico asked. He took the hand that Percy offered him.

"I was admitted by my parents", Percy answered. He put air quotes around the word "parents." "I just woke up one day, in a new place, with people that I didn't even know."

Clarrisse and Travis also concluded the same thing. So did Nico and Hazel.

"Very interesting…" said Hazel. "For me, it was sort of waking up from a dream. A very long dream. Did you guys experience something like that?"

"Nah, I just woke up immediately with no recollection with what happened before. It's all fuzzy, as if someone just took that memory away," said Travis.

Percy groaned. "I had my memory tampered enough times. If this is Hera's doing than I swear…" He trailed off, leaving the threat to hang in the air. He paused and tilted his head, as if expecting something.

"Uh, Percy?" Nico asked. "Why'd you pause?"

"That's funny. Usually some sort of sign from the gods would appear when you say their name or insult them," Percy observed. He looked outside. The sky was blue and clear. Everything was calm.

Too calm.

"You might be a bit paranoid there Jackson," Clarrisse said. "Did you hit your head too hard when you got up?"

Percy frowned. "No…this isn't right. Have you guys noticed that no monsters have come to attack us? Even though we have no weapons? (the hospital staff took them away)."

Silence. The demigods all had contemplative expressions on their faces.

Percy continued. "And what about the gods? I haven't seen any signs that they know that we're here. In fact, there aren't even signs that they exist!"

"Well, I guess you have a point there…" Travis commented.

"So, what do we do now?" Nico said.

"To be honest, I have no idea," Percy admitted. "I didn't really get that far since I thought you guys wouldn't believe me."

Nico rolled his eyes. "No wonder Annabeth calls you Seaweed Brain."

Wrong move.

Percy's eyes glazed over at the mention of "her" name. "Guys, I got to go."

Nico realized his mistake. "Wait, I'm sorry. I didn't know-"

The son of Poseidon gave him a small smile. "No, it's fine. You didn't mean it. Hope you enjoy your new life at the Institute." He walk towards his room.

Travis put his hand on Nico's shoulder. "It's alright bro. He'll be back to his normal self faster than you could say 'Hades's underpants.'" Travis then grinned. "Its too good of a day to get all upset, you and Hazel are here- our fellow demigods. And what's even better is that it's a Wednesday!"

Hazel gave Travis a confused look. "What are so special about Wednesdays?"

The curly-haired boy's grin grew even wider. "We get to go outside."

* * *

And sure enough, at around noon the patients were outside in the recreation area of the Jefferson Institute. It was spacious and filled with all kinds of things. A running track ran around the rim of the area for those who wanted to walk. There was a swimming pool (much to Percy's delight when he got here), a colorful garden bursting with colorful and fragrant flowers (Katie would've loved this), and even an archery range (it's not a sword, but I'll take it).

The demigods cherished this time because it was practically the only chance during the week that they'll see the outside world. They may be considered schizophrenic whack-jobs by doctors, but they're still teenagers- not to mention teenagers who have ADHD.

The patients were bouncing all over the place- using the energy that they stored from being inside to fuel their hyperactivity. Clarrisse was occupied with talking to Hazel and Travis was busy running laps. Percy, of course, was still inside.

Nurse Jones carefully took notes of them (where the patients go, she has to go with them).

_As usual, Travis seems to have an affinity to go to the track. _She lifted her head up to see the son of Hermes finishing up his second lap. _The boy can run __**very **__fast, he already ran two laps in the 5 minutes we have been outside. With those pointed ears of his, he sort of looks like an elf._

The nurse trained her eyes on the girls. They seem to get along well enough. She jotted the observation down and tried to listen into their conversation. Since they were a good distance away from Nurse Jones, she only got parts of the conversation.

"…Heard anything…Frank?"

Clarrisse shook her head. "No…nothing."

Hazel frowned. Worry was evident in her gold eyes. "Okay…thanks…"

"My brother…too…hate to admit it….care for him, even if…Roman," Clarrisse sympathized.

_Clarrisse and Hazel mentioned a 'Frank' at around 12:15, June 15__th__. Hazel asked the other girl if she had heard anything from him. The answer was no. This 'Frank' person seems very dear to Hazel…is their "relationship" the same as Percy's and 'Annabeth's'? Clarrisse also said that he was her brother and is Roman. Clarrisse is a daughter of Ares…the Roman form of Ares is Mars. So is 'Frank' a son of Mars?_

This is just getting more and more complicated, Nurse Jones thought. How many of these cases are going to show up anyway? The woman then focused her attention on Christopher Vargas, or Nico di Angelo as his "friends" know him as.

The dark-haired boy was currently under the shade of a tree, and looked like he was petting…air? She couldn't tell if the boy was actually petting nothing, or something that she couldn't see.

Quietly, the nurse walked over to observe him.

* * *

Nico di Angelo was bored. Oh so very bored.

He thought that the Jefferson Institute would bring at least _some _joy to his life. Now don't get him wrong, he loved Hazel Levesque as a sister. But let's face it, little sisters are annoying and Hazel was too...happy for his taste. The other demigods were busy doing their own stuff. Clarrisse was downright terrifying and he didn't trust Travis ever since he painted his cabin _pink. _

The only person he (sort of) liked was Percy. Sure the son of Hades still blamed the other boy for killing his sister, but he kind of…admired the guy. I mean, he got out of Tartarus _alive _with his sanity intact. And he guessed, to an extent, that he loved the guy.

Nah, that couldn't be.

Nico sighed and leaned back on a tree. Oh how he wish his life wasn't so damn _complicated. _

Slowly, Nico's eyebrow drooped. How nice would it be to just relax and forget all that has happened…

The son of Hades was about to nod off when he heard a noise.

A very familiar noise.

"Woof!"

There was a dog, a black dog with ruby red eyes. It's tongue was out and it's eyes were filled with relief and happiness.

No. Way.

"Mrs. O'Leary?" Nico asked.

Mrs. O'Leary barked, as if to say, "About time!"

Nico looked at the black dog with disbelieving eyes. "But, you're so small and tiny!"

Indeed, the gigantic hellhound from the Underworld has shrunken to the size of a puppy- a very cute and formerly dangerous puppy. To any mortals, she would've just looked like an adorable dog. If only they knew what she _really _looked like. Then they wouldn't think that she was "cute and adorable," now would they? This thought amused the son of Hades.

Nico patted her head earning him affectionate licks from the hellhound. "Nice to see you too. Where have you been? I haven't seen any monsters ever since I woke up."

The hellhound looked like she was about to answer, but instead she produced a small growl and gave Nico a "I'll talk to you later" kind of look and shadow traveled away.

"Hello Nico." A woman in a white nurse's outfit came up to him. She had a kind expression on her face. "Who were you talking to?"

Nico hesitated before answering. He didn't really know this woman, but he saw the others talk to her and she didn't really seem to be a monster.

"…I was talking to a dog."

The nurse raised her eyebrow. "A dog? What did it look like?"

"Oh, you know, a regular black dog," the boy simply stated.

"Interesting." The woman wrote something in her notebook that Nico couldn't read. She snapped it closed and smiled at the dark-haired boy. "Thank you for your time Mr. di Angelo. Have a good day."

Nico just grunted and closed his eyes again, happy that the woman was gone.

He didn't see the pitying glance that the nurse gave him.

* * *

_Nico di Angelo's delusions are far worse than I had initially thought. He claimed that he was "talking" to a black dog, thought there wasn't any thing in sight that even __remotely__ looked like a dog. I request that his medication is to be increased and more tests to be done, preferably as soon as possible. _

* * *

**I didn't butcher Nico's and Hazel's personalities too much did I? I feel like I'm making all of these characters OOC. **

**Next chapter, a new patient arrives at the Jefferson Institute! **

**No, it's not Annabeth. But she _will _be making an appearance later on into the story. **


	4. Chapter 4

**So I just found out that I've been spelling "Clarisse" wrong all along. I spelled it with TWO 'r's' instead of one. I'm surprised nobody pointed this out yet. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**

* * *

_That's it, it's split- it wont recover. _

_Just frame the halves, and call them brothers. _

_Find your fathers, and your mothers. _

_If you remember, who they are. _

…

_That's it, it's split, It can't recover. _

_Just frame the halves, and call them a whole. _

_And chip at the bricks and fill up your pockets . _

_With the pieces of the wall that you stole. _

_-Call Them Brothers, By Regina Spektor_

* * *

It has been about two months since the last patients arrived and there were no serious cases reported and needed to be transferred. Hazel and Nico have comfortably settled in the institute as best as they can (it was unnerving to have doctors and security cameras watching your every move).

Not much has happened since then.

Percy's birthday was today though, and they celebrated with a special treat. The hospital staff let him go to the outside world. Not as in outside as in the recreation area, but as outside as in with real people and the skyscrapers of New York. They even let his other friends go too. Nico decided not to go and stayed at the Institute.

The remaining patients requested that they should go to Long Island, New York. "To find a place," they said. They made their way into a forest looking for something, the doctors wasn't sure what they wanted to find.

_The patients seem to be looking for a "Farm Road, 3.141." Which is ridiculous, who would want to live in the woods of Long Island? The address intself is also pretty far-fetched too. It isn't even a real address and the numbers are the first 4 numbers of pi. I suppose it's because pi associated with Archimedes, a Greek. The "demigods" seem to have know what they're doing, with the exception of Hazel. _

Nurse Jones reviewed her notes. Could this place, that they're trying to find only pertain to the "Greek demigods?" If so, then would about the "Roman demigods?"

She decided to ask Hazel, who looked like she wasn't doing anything.

"Oh, they're looking for Camp Half-Blood," answered Hazel, as if the answer was _that _obvious.

So that's what they were looking for, Nurse Jones thought. But since it was a camp, shouldn't it be easy to find?

Hazel must have read her expression. "Camp Half-Blood is protected by a magical barrier, making it virtually impossible for mortals like you to see it. It also works as protection from the monsters that prowl the woods. At the front, a mechanical dragon named Peleus guards the entrance."

Nurse Jones was slightly annoyed with her response, but she commended the girl for saying all of that with a serious face. Most of her answer wasn't even possible. I mean, a mechanical dragon? Please. "Mortals" like her haven't even perfected the robot. It seemed unreasonable. Then again, the patients were here because they were "unreasonable_._"

Still, the nurse nodded her head and continued to smile. "And what about you Hazel? Is there a 'Camp Half-Blood' for Roman demigods too?"

Hazel's face immediately brightened. "Yes, but it's all the way in Berkeley, California." She put on a dreamy expression on her face. "Its absolutely wonderful. But instead of calling it Camp Half-Blood, we call it Camp Jupiter."

"Of course it has to be named after a Roman god," Nurse Jones thought. "And the king of the gods at that."

"It's slightly more different than Camp Half-Blood," Hazel mused. "Instead of pegasi, we have unicorns. Ours is also run more like a military camp, the rules are stricter and the punishments are also more harsh." At the mention of the word 'punishment,' the girl shivered.

Nurse Jones could not think of a response. Seriously? Pegasi and unicorns? It sounded like a little girl's dream, minus the military part.

"I see," Nurse Jones finally answered. "You seem to really love…horse-like animals Mrs. Levesque."

"They're amazing creatures, so beautiful and majestic. When I was little, one of my friends invited me to go horseback riding with him, even though colored children weren't even allowed to go to the stables. Yes, it was fun while it lasted…"

Colored children? But all kinds of people can go anywhere today…

Nurse Jones mentally face palmed. Oh yeah, Hazel Levesque has deluded herself into think that she lived during the 1930's. If the woman learned anything from her World History class, it's that white people weren't very tolerant on the others back then.

But assuming this is true, wouldn't Hazel technically be _older _than her? Nurse Jones glanced at the "young" girl again. The thought slightly disturbed her. The girl didn't seem to have wrinkles yet, but she seemed to talk in that "old-fashioned" way. And she seemed awfully confused when it came to modern tech.

The nurse smiled. "It sounds like you had a good time Hazel. Thank you for your time."

"No problem," Hazel said. She turned her head around to see Percy and the others walk back. Words can't even begin to describe how crestfallen they looked.

"Nothing?" Hazel asked.

"Nope," Travis answered. "It seemed like the whole camp just got up and left. There wasn't anything that suggested that it even existed. The Big House, the cabins, hell, even the Dining Pavilion is gone." The son of Hermes shook his head. "Damn, and I was hoping that I would get some supplies from my cabin too, or at least some weapons from the armory."

Percy raised an eyebrow at him.

"And to find the rest of our friends of course," Travis quickly added.

Clarisse sighed. "If they're not here, then they're not here. We just have to look somewhere else. Best case scenario: they end up like us. Worst case scenario: they're captured by who-knows-what. I'm betting my money on Gaia." She cracked her knuckles.

"I suppose so…" Percy mused. "What did happen to Gaia anyway? I know that we traveled to Greece, but what happened after that?"

Travis shrugged. "Beats me. But whatever happened there led us to this situation."

"We've done everything that we could do today. We just have to accept the fact the camp isn't here," Hazel said. "Let's head back. Besides you haven't even opened up the presents we got you yet."

* * *

"I never thought assigning Emo Boy the role of 'party-decorator' would work out," Clarisse sniffed. "But I got to say, he did a pretty bang-up job."

The room (specifically Percy's) was decorated simply and sparsely. Nico managed to make the small, white room a bit more colorful. Sea-green balloons were scattered about and there was a table in the middle of the room. The actual table had paper plates and eating utensils arranged neatly on it's surface and had a, oh, gods, was that a blue cake?

The son of Hades had a small smile on his face. "Happy Birthday Percy."

Percy, to say the least, was shell-shocked. "Nico, did you do all of this by yourself?"

"Not exactly," Nico said. "I had some…help. Nurse Jones bought the cake though. It was to reward us for being such cooperative patients."

Nurse Jones blushed. "It was nothing really. I think everybody should have the chance to celebrate their birthday- sane or insane."

Percy smiled. "Thanks for the cake Nurse Jones." The other patients chimed in their thanks to the nurse too.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Hazel said. "Let's dig in!"

The teenagers made a bee line for the cake- it didn't really work out that well since the room was at such a small size and the table took a good portion of the available space. Nevertheless, Percy managed to get there first and snagged a big piece of the cake.

After the scramble, they all settled down. But since there were no chairs, some sat on Percy's bed and some just simply leaned on the wall. Despite there were only the six of them, the room was filled with laughter and shouts.

Something happened between Percy and Clarisse which ended up with Percy's face being covered with blue frosting, causing even more laughter to ring out. Nico and Hazel were quietly talking in one of the corners of the room. Hazel simply patted Nico on the shoulder and whispering something in his ear.

"Alright then!" Travis said. He took a bit of his cake. "How do you feel about singing happy birthday to Percy over here?"

There was a chorus of sure's and a few groans here and there.

"I'll take that as a yes then!" Travis proclaimed.

At this notion, Nurse Jones decided to leave the room, not wanting to disturb the teenager's celebration.

Percy noticed this and stopped her. "You brought in the delicious cake, it's only fair that you get to partake in this too."

And so, with five schizophrenic patients and their caretaker, the unusual group started to sing "Happy Birthday."

_Happy Birthday to you. _

_Happy Birthday to you. _

_Happy Birthday dear- _

At this part there were several answers, ranging from "Percy" to "Prissy Jackson."

_Happy Birthday to you. _

Nurse Jones had to admit, the scene was heartwarming- even if they sang horribly. "They aren't all that bad," the nurse thought. "They seem like fun people to hang around with."

It finally reached the time to open presents.

Clarisse made Percy a miniature spear crafted out of toothpicks and metal. It got taken immediately as soon as the girl took it out, but Percy still appreciated the effort.

Hazel made a small charm made out of bronze for Percy to put on his necklace of beads. How the girl managed to get the metal, Nurse Jones hasn't have the faintest idea.

Percy showed a little hesitation of picking it up. "Are you sure it's safe? I won't get my foot chopped off would I?"

"I'm pretty sure. I've been getting the hang of controlling the riches and I'm almost 100% positive that this thing won't kill/seriously maim you," Hazel answered.

Percy just shrugged. "If you insist." He took the charm from her hand and strung it on the necklace. Nothing happened.

After confirming that he hasn't been hurt in anyway, Percy thanked Hazel for her present.

Nico's present was simple and sweet.

He gave Percy a hug. A really big hug.

"Happy Birthday Percy," Nico murmured.

"Uh…thanks Nico," Percy flustered. " I really appreciate it."

Travis bounded up to the green-eyed boy with a wide grin on his face. "Happy Birthday Perce!" He reached into his pocket and came out with…

Nothing.

Travis frowned. "Huh, guess I forgot it in my room. I'll be right back!" He raced out of the room.

* * *

"Now where did I put that thing…" Travis said. He looked under his bed, the drawers, anywhere that could hide something small. "I pretty sure I put in my pocket before we left." The son of Hermes scratched his head.

Where could it be?

He took a step forward and felt something underneath his shoes. Thinking it was Percy's present he picked it up.

And it was.

The actual presents were sort of lame, but it was hard to give your friend a cool present when you can't go anywhere. The presents were two tickets for a "free steal." The tickets allowed Percy to employ him, or any of his siblings to steal _anything, _free from charge! He used to sell them back at Camp to anyone who wanted his services.

But it was quite useless when you cant steal anything, but when they get out of here (if they get out of here), then Percy will be able to use them.

Travis was about to walk out of there when a gust of wind from an open window blew the tickets out of his hand and well out of the boy's reach.

"Hey, wait!" Travis cried. He scrambled toward the direction of the presents, which blew under the door.

The son of Hermes rushed out of his room and caught sight of the tickets. Hurriedly, he dashed in their direction and caught them in his hand. Unfortunately, he ran into another boy while at it.

Both of the boys fell to the ground with an audible "thud."

"Hey watch where you're going!" Travis said. He rubbed his head and looked at the other person.

And he was shocked at who it was.

"Me? How about you watch where your're going!" the other boy retorted. He looked at Travis and frowned. "Hey…we sort of look alike don't we?"

Travis simply stared, still in shock.

The other boy just shrugged. "Whatever, it must be a coincidence. See you around, other me!" He was about to leave when Travis grabbed his shoulder.

"Conner? Is that you?" Travis asked. He had a hopeful gleam in his eyes. He grabbed both of the other boy's shoulders.

The boy raised an eyebrow, a slightly scared look on his face. "Conner? Who's that? I don't know anybody by that name."

Travis eyebrows furrowed. "No…you are definitely Conner. We look exactly the same, except for the fact that I'm taller. See? We're brothers. My name's Travis." A panicky look was starting to form on his face. "Don't you remember?"

The boy shook his head. "I'm sorry. I do not remember seeing you at any point in my life. And my name isn't 'Conner,' it's Jacob, Jacob Williams."

* * *

**Lame ending is lame. **

**Okay, so that wasn't exactly a "patient." I decided bringing in a pre-awakened Conner Stoll would be better for the story. And it adds more to the plot. **

**In the next chapter (or the next one after that, not really sure yet), a new one arrives. This one will actually be a patient, so don't worry.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Happy Pi Day everyone! 3.14159…uh, that's all I can remember. It's also my birthday if anybody wants to know. *innocently whistles***

**In other news, wow, 16 reviews already? I love you guys!**

**Updates will a be a bit slower since there are probably going to be more full weeks of school**

**Disclaimer: I still haven't owned the rights to PJO. Never have, never will.**

* * *

_I am starting to think, that maybe memories are like this dessert. I eat it, and it becomes a part of me, whether I remember it later or not. _

_-Erica Bauermeister_

* * *

Travis's right eye twitched. No this couldn't be…

"Uh, dude are you okay?" Jacob asked. He waved a hand in front of the teen's face. "Hello?"

At around that time, Percy and the others rolled into the hallway looking for Travis. It has been 15 minutes and he still haven't returned to the party. So naturally, they decided to search for him.

What they were expecting was a Travis happily going back to the party with Percy's present in hand.

What they saw was a Travis who looked emotionally traumatized and another boy who looked exactly like him, but shorter.

"Oh my gods, Connor?" Percy said.

Jacob threw his hands up in the air. "Why does everyone think my name is Connor! It's Jacob Williams. How hard is that to remember? And who is this 'Connor' guy anyway and why do you guys keep comparing me to him?"

Nurse Jones decided to intervene. If the other patients recognized him, then she must consult with Jacob. Though he doesn't show any signs of _error semideum. _Perhaps it was only a coincidence that they know him. She needed to know more.

She took the boy's hand. "My name's Nurse Jones. Come with me, we got a lot to discuss."

Jacob looked at the nurse. She seemed…sane enough, unlike those guys at least. But then again, she could just be as crazy as the other patients. But she looked nice and friendly. The other doctors and nurses didn't seem to be fazed by her appearance.

Jacob sighed. Oh how he wished he never agreed to go to the field trip to the Jefferson Institute, but he seriously didn't have nothing better to do. And it didn't really help that he had this feeling that he should go.

"Alright then," Jacob answered. "Lead the way."

* * *

As he followed the Nurse Jones down the hallway, he looked back at the patients. He wish he didn't.

Each and everyone of them had a crestfallen expression on their faces. His lookalike, Travis he thought his name was, looked extremely dejected. Didn't he say that he was his brother? But that's impossible. He never met this man until now, or did he? Jacob wasn't so sure now. It wasn't everyday that random strangers came up to you and claimed to be your siblings.

But he was in a mental hospital, where all the crazy people go. He shouldn't be concerned that a patient there "recognized" him.

Satisfied with his answer, the boy followed the nurse into an empty room. They sat in wooden chairs situated near a window facing each other.

"Your name is Jacob, correct?" the nurse asked.

Jacob nodded. "Yes ma'am."

The nurse leaned back on her chair. "You haven't seen any of those people in your life?"

Jacob gave the same answer.

"Well, you know that boy Travis? According to my notes and observations, Travis Stoll has several brothers and sisters. But he mentioned one more often than the others, and his name is Connor Stoll."

"And he thinks that 'Connor Stoll' is me?"

Nurse Jones nodded. "Yes. He mentioned that you guys were identical, but not twins. She said that you and him were half-brothers. Same father, different moms."

Jacob raised an eyebrow. "Say what? I don't understand."

The woman sighed and slid some files in front of the boy's face. "Travis Stoll's condition is…hard to comprehend. And I don't expect someone as young as you to do it either. Reading the files will make it easier."

The boy scanned through the papers. After he was finished, he put down the files and a look of disbelief on his face. "Hold on, you're telling me that he has this new kind of disorder named _error semideum _people who have it think that they're demigods?"

"Basically."

"And Travis thinks that he's a son of Hermes?"

"As he believes."

"…and I thought I had seen everything that this world has to offer," Jacob sighed. "Those other people who were with him, they have it too? Does the public know about this?"

Nurse Jones nodded. "Yes, they are so far the only known cases of _error semideum. _There is no cure yet for this disease and the patients don't seem to be affected by any of our treatments. As for your second question, no. If word gets out that there is a new disorder out there, then the public will freak out. The only people who know about this is the hospital staff, the patient's parents, and you." She slid her eyes towards Jacob.

The boy knew exactly what she wanted him to do. Besides, the look that she was giving him creeped him out. "Yes, I won't tell anybody of _error semideum _or this conversation."

The nurse smiled. "Great, I'm glad you understand." She leaned closer to him. "Do you mind if I ask a favor from you?"

Jacob squirmed in his seat, feeling a little bit uncomfortable with the nurse so close to him. "Uh…sure?"

Nurse Jones's smile grew even wider. "Would you mind staying here as a patient, you know to observe their behavior, personalities, spot any similarities between them?"

Jacob didn't know what to say. Live…with the patients? The possibly mentally unstable and psychopathic patients?

"I know this isn't what you had in mind when asked you for a favor," the nurse reasoned. "But I'm asking you to do this, in the name of Science? You're the perfect person to do this since they 'know' you and seem to trust you. Your parents will be notified, so don't worry."

The boy wasn't very sure if he should take this or not. The whole thing just made him feel unsettled. What if it turns out if he's one of _them? _He'll lose his memories, his achievements, his friends, his identity. Everything that made him Jacob Williams.

But he felt something inside of him, something that made him _want _to do it. It was pleasant, yet weird at the same time. Jacob thought about it for a while and made his decision.

"…I guess it couldn't hurt." Jacob took a deep breath. It was settled. "If it's going to help these people then I will."

* * *

Percy, Clarisse, Nico, Hazel, and Travis were sitting in the lobby with disbelief on their faces. After that fiasco between Travis and Conn- I mean Jacob, they were forced to rethink this whole thing.

Travis decided to sit by himself. He was the most distraught of them all. The mischievous gleam that was always in his eyes was gone and was replaced with this empty and hollow look. For once in his life, Travis Stoll did not feel like pulling pranks or telling jokes. Under his breath he was muttering, "No, this can't be true-can it? This must be a prank, an elaborate prank set up for me. Yeah, that's right…a prank."

"How could Connor _not _recognized us?" Percy said.

"Seriously, how can he not be him?" Clarisse added. "He looks like him, acts like him, hell, he even smells like him. I'm sick and tired of seeing Travis moping around like that, he's not fun to be around."

"I agree with Clarisse," Hazel said. "But it begs the question, are we really just mortals who lost their mind? That this is just a figment of our imagination?"

Nico shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. We simply do not know. We don't even have a lead on how we ended up here in the first place."

Clarisse snorted. "That's impossible, if we didn't exist, then the whole fucking world would be destroyed right now. We had to exist right?"

Percy frowned. "I guess you make a point right there. This whole situation is a bit fishy don't you think?"

"Uh...Hi? I guess," a voice said.

That voice came from Jacob Williams.

Naturally, all the patient's attention turned to the Jacob. Even Travis perked up a bit at the sound of his voice- another hopeful gleam was in his eyes. He got up from his seat and walked over to the boy.

"So, you okay there bro?" Travis said. "Remember anything?"

"Not exactly, I don't remember anything since we last met. But I decided to stay and 'observe' you guys. You know, for your well being," Jacob replied. "Nurse Jones told me to do it."

From about 20 feet away, Nurse Jones gave a friendly wave. She then began writing something down in her black notebook.

Travis grinned much to Jacob's surprise. "No problem. I'm sorry for going Darth Vader on you. Should've expected that response from you." He patted Jacob's back. "Hey, maybe this experience will be good for you eh? Maybe I'll get back my brother if you start hanging around with us. And is it okay calling you 'Connor?' It's weird to call you 'Jacob.'"

"Remember, you have to make them trust you." The voice of the nurse echoed in his head.

"Sure."

Travis immediately hugged the boy. "Glad you understand Connor. Hope this gets you to remember all the stuff that you forgot."

Jacob had a small smile. He couldn't but feel happy for Travis- even if he didn't really get what he wanted. Still...just hugging him made him feel complete in a sort of way. Something that he hadn't felt in a long time.

* * *

_Gods I'm tired! I never thought it would take that much of my energy._

_Seriously? You could've used your remaining energy to get us out of here._

_You're the one who got us into this situation in the first place. And I __**am**__ doing something to help us escape. Don't think I like it here either, it's so cramped and I can't even move my legs!_

_He's right you know. Even if they're separated, they still pose a threat to her plans. Uniting them is the only way to get us out of here._

_At least most of the threats are gone. She's still tired from casting that spell, and more and more of them are waking up from it._

_Some, but not all. Besides, I can practically feel her waking up. Her power grows every second that we're in here._

_What if they never wake up? What if we're stuck here forever? I'll never get to see my beautiful face again! This darkness is not good for my skin you know._

_I agree with her. Darkness does not equal a happy me. I miss the sun and all its glory. In fact, I made a haiku for it. You guys want to hear it?_

_NO._

_You guys are all sissies. I spend most of my time in the dark and I don't complain._

_Shut up. No one likes you. And besides, you practically control it so you're at an unfair advantage._

_All of you are acting like children. Stop being so melodramatic. We will get out of here. The only question here is when._

* * *

**It wasn't really that hard to guess who was talking at the end was it? Or where they were for that matter**


	6. Chapter 6

**Oh gods, what have I been doing to deserve all these reviews? Seriously, you guys are the best fans I ever had. I will try to update as much as possible! **

**This chapter was stupidly and mind-numbingly hard to write (especially the end). No it's not because of a lack of ideas, but the sheer number of it. I had trouble which path to take when writing this chapter, so this one might seem a little bit rushed.**

**Disclaimer: I asked for the rights to PJO on Friday, it never came.**

* * *

_But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget. _

_-Tim O'Brien_

* * *

The patients drew sticks to see who would talk to Jacob first since everybody practically crowded against the poor boy and shooting out random questions.

First was Hazel Levesque. (I don't really know the guy, but I'll try my best).

Second was Clarisse LaRue. (Can I punch him to get him to remember?) .

Third was Nico di Angelo. (Whatever).

Fourth was Percy Jackson. (Cool, let's see what I can do).

And last, but not least, Travis Stoll. (Aww man! Why did I have to pick the short stick?)

Everybody but Hazel left the lobby so Jacob could concentrate on "remembering." Nurse Jones stood in an obscure corner to take down notes without distracting anything. This would be a good chance to see what happens when a person "wakes" into their other personality, she thought. Provided that Jacob even has the disease.

After the other patients left, an awkward silence developed between the two teenagers.

Jacob cleared his throat. "So...do you got anything on me?"

Hazel shook her head. "Nope, I'm sorry Mr. Williams. I didn't really know you that much. I've only seen you a couple of times here and there, but never face-to-face. But what I can recall is that you had a great sense of humor and you loved to pull pranks."

"Well, at least she revealed a little bit of my personality," Jacob thought. Funny and mischievous- got it.

The boy nodded. "I understand. Thanks anyway."

Hazel smiled. "No problem." She left the room and a few minutes later, Clarisse came in.

_As expected, Hazel Levesque can't seem to rouse any memories in Jacob Williams. Based on her description, Connor Stoll seems to have a similar personality to Travis Stoll. It could be that Jacob Williams might not have error semideum in the first place. But all possibilities must be considered. _

After talking to Hazel, Jacob concluded that she was pretty nice and beautiful in a young and happy sort of way. She actually looked...normal for a mentally unstable girl. But he had this...feeling that he shouldn't get more attached to her. A memory of an Asian dude with a baby-like face flashed in his mind and was gone as fast as it appeared.

Jacob blinked his eyes. He was probably imagining it...

Jacob gulped when he saw Clarisse came in. He was really hoping that he wouldn't have to talk to this one. Her eyes reminded him of that of a pig, or maybe a boar. She had a fierce and blood-thirsty appearance about her that would strike fear into the hearts of anybody. Out of all the patients, Clarisse La Rue seemed to be the one most likely to beat the daylights out of him.

The smirk on her face when she came in only reassured that thought.

The girl flopped next to Jacob and examined him. She continued to stare at him for a few seconds.

"Uh...are you going to ask me a question or are you just going to-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence before Clarisse's fist made contact with his face.

The impact blew Jacob off his seat and he landed on the hard linoleum floor. Doctor's immediately came to the scene and tried to restrain Clarisse from hitting him again.

She had an amused smile on her face. "I see that you haven't changed a bit Stoll! That was for the time when you and your brother stole cheated me out in poker. You still owe me 20 drachmas!" The doctors began dragging her out to one of the doors. "And your self-defense skills still suck-" The door closed behind her, shutting any noise from entering the room.

He got up from the floor and rubbed the spot where Clarisse punched him. Surprisingly, it did not hurt as bad as he thought it would be. In fact, the pain was starting to numb and eventually faded. What was even more surprising was that he wanted to laugh and say something along the lines of "Haha, you're never getting your money back! Who sucks now Clarisse?"

Nurse Jones came up to him and gave him an ice pack. She had a concerned expression on her face. "Are you okay Mr. Williams? I'm terribly sorry that Clarisse punched you in the face. She's completely unpredictable that girl…"

"No, no it's fine Nurse Jones," Jacob said. "It's not your fault."

The nurse examined Jacob. "If you say so. But if it starts to hurt again, just ask one of the staff here. They'll be more than happy to help you. I'll go get Nico di Angelo for you." She gave the boy one last smile and walked away.

_Clarisse La Rue punched Jacob Williams in his face yelling something about...poker? Whatever it was, there seemed to be a brief gleam of recognition on Jacob's face. The only sign of pain that he showed was a wince when she punched him- very unusual for such a scrawny boy like him. This also one of the symptoms of error semideum. This is getting very, very interesting..._

Nico di Angelo walked into the room with a let's-just-get-this-over-with look on his face. He sort of looked...emo to Jacob. How can you not think that when you first see him? He had dark hair and pale skin with an olive tone to it. The kid looked like he hadn't smiled in years and looked like he just came back from a cemetery.

"What's up Emo Boy?" Jacob said. He instantly covered his mouth. Oh gods, where did that came from?

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Just like your brother I see. I should've expected much." He sat across from the boy and crossed his legs. "You got any questions for me?"

Jacob sighed. "Do you know anything about me, about Connor Stoll?"

"Nothing much, I barely go to Camp Half-Blood anyways."

Camp Half-Blood...wasn't that the place where Greek demigods go to? Or at least that's what the nurse told him. Jacob was pretty sure that he never went there but he felt a vague feeling of happiness and security.

"You and Travis were always together though. You did everything with each other, pulling practical jokes (Nico made a face at this one), teaming up in Capture the Flag, etc. But you were the smartest out of the two," continued Nico. "You guys were more like best friends then brothers."

"I see," Jacob said. He didn't really get anything useful besides that he and Travis were close. "Thanks."

"Yeah," he mumbled.

_Nico di Angelo didn't really contribute to anything that we already knew. He mentioned that he wasn't around Camp Half-Blood very much. From what I know, it's supposed to be a safe haven for Greek demigods. Shouldn't he be there more often since he was a "demigod" himself?_

Percy Jackson walked into the room with a happy expression on his face. "Hey Connor, long time no see!"

"Hey…Percy. That's your name right?"

Percy nodded. "Yup. Now I understand that you're having trouble remembering what had happened to you?"

Nice job stating the obvious. "Yes."

The green eyed boy cracked his knuckles. "Alright then. I guess I'll start off with relationships. I thought you were a pretty nice guy, but you should never be trusted around shaving cream, or fire, or anything explosive for that matter. You had a knack for causing trouble, and it often got you into tons of trouble with Chiron."

"Trouble? Like what?" asked Jacob genuinely curious.

"Well," Percy started. "One time you fed Peleus a couple of extra-spicy burritos which almost caused a forest fire. Believe me, the wood nymphs weren't happy when they found out that it was you. You couldn't enter the forest without tripping over branches and leaves."

Jacob didn't know half the things that Percy talked about, but it sounded interesting and somewhat familiar. "Anything else?"

"Oh and during the Titan War, you were willing to go up against your half-brother Luke." Percy's face darkened a little bit. "Even though you guys were related, you still kept your loyalty to the gods and your friends. Now that's what I admire about you, Connor."

Jacob frowned. He felt a tiny feeling of betrayal at the mention of Luke's name, but it soon faded away. "Hold on, I have another brother? I thought Travis was the only one. "

Percy grinned. "You have a lot more siblings than you think. Luke is just one of them. Though he betrayed us to the Titans, in the end he died a hero. If your memory comes back, you should know the rest."

"...Alright then. Thank you Percy." At least this talk revealed a little more about his personality, like he was loyal and brave.

_Nothing important was mentioned here besides another sibling. His name's Luke, no last name was given. The 'Titan War' was mentioned in here again too and it seemed that this "Luke" was at the center of it. _

Nurse Jones smiled to herself. This should be interesting at the very least. A couple of hours ago, Travis asked her if he could do this and she approved it. Besides, it would liven this place up a little bit.

Travis Stoll entered the room with a hopeful smile on his face and something in his hand. It looked like a photograph of some sort. He was an exact copy of Jacob Williams himself. They both had curly brown hair and blue eyes. The only difference was that Travis was taller.

"What's up bro! How's it going?"

"...Good, I suppose. It's hard to feel comfortable when you're surrounded by mentally insane people," Jacob honestly replied. He glanced at the piece of paper that Travis was holding.

His look-alike must have noticed because he gave off a laugh. "Oh this?" He handed the object to Jacob. "I've been working on it. It's my master plan to get you to try and remember."

Jacob inspected the paper. It looked like an outline of a...plan? It had a numbered list of phrases with scrawled out sayings like "snowman suit." There looked like to be about 30 items listed on there.

"What is this?" Jacob asked.

"It's all the stuff that we were supposed to do while we're at Camp, but never did," Travis replied. "For some reason, I found it on my dresser this morning, so I was like, what the hell?"

Jacob raised an eyebrow. "And this will help me how?"

Travis had on a mischievous grin on his face. "You'll see."

* * *

"This has got to be the most ridiculous thing that I have ever done in my life," Jacob thought.

Currently, he and Travis were standing in front of the Institute in a snowman suit. Not to mention that it was the freaking SUMMERTIME.

The suit was big enough so the two of them can fit in it. Jacob was on the bottom and Travis was on top so that he can see through the eye holes. Needless to say, it was hot. I mean _really _hot. The suit was basically an oven and Jacob felt like he was being cooked alive.

"What are we supposed to do again?" the boy asked.

The son of Hermes looked down with a grin. "Just wait a few seconds. Wait! Here comes someone now!" He focused his attention outside and Jacob felt him taking in a deep breath.

"BOO!"

Jacob jumped at the sound, nearly knocking both of them to the ground. It didn't take a genius to know what have happened. Outside of the suit, he heard a couple of frightened screams of terror and a baby cry.

The other boy howled with laughter. "You should've seen their faces! Hey, you want to try it too?"

Jacob scowled."And why would I do that? It's wrong to scare people like that."

"C'mon don't be like that! Just this once. Please?" Travis made a baby face. It didn't work out too well since it was pretty dark and sweat was streaming down on his face. But, Jacob relented anyway.

"Alright then."

The boys took off the snowman suit and switched places. Now Jacob was the one on top and Travis was on the bottom.

Jacob sighed. He just wanted to get this over with. He waited for a person to come close. A lot of the people that passed gave them an odd look and he even heard someone said, "I knew that I shouldn't taken this route. A crazy lot they are."

Finally, a man with brown hair with some papers in his hands came close. Jacob sucked in some air and let out a-

"BOO!"

The man let out a high pitched, shrill, scream that sounded like a little girl's and ran away from them. The papers that he was holding fell to the ground like confetti.

Jacob felt a little bad for scaring the man, but he felt sort of good after doing that. "...Okay I gotta admit, I felt a rush doing that."

Travis smiled, or at least Jacob thought he smiled. "See? I knew that you would enjoy it! Now c'mon, we got a lot to do!"

* * *

The rest of the day passed quickly. By the time they were done, it was already sunset. Both of them were in lying in the beds in Travis's room breathing heavily and their faces were red from laughing too much.

"I...never...had...this...much fun...in a long…time," Jacob heaved.

"I...know...right?" Travis responded tiredly. "I haven't done this in a couple of months since the hospital staff won't let me. Told you it would be fun, didn't I?"

"Did you see the face when Hazel opened the laptop and saw the screamer? It was priceless!"

"Or the reaction that Percy had when we dumped a bucket of sardines on him?"

"Or Clarisse's expression when we dripped some tabasco sauce in her mouth?"

"But it was totally worth it, even if Clarisse almost broke my limbs and swore to get revenge on me," Travis finished.

Jacob let out a sigh. "Too bad that I didn't really remember anything though. I mean, I had a couple of memories that flashed in my head. They didn't last very long though. And during one of the pranks, I heard a voice in my head. Just barely above a whisper."

Travis frowned. "Really? I thought pulling pranks would help you get...well get _you_ back. But it looked like it didn't work. Perhaps you really aren't Connor." He had a crestfallen expression on his face.

The boy felt guilty seeing Travis liked that. He genuinely wanted to help this guy, to get his brother back. Sighing, Jacob decided to leave the room to so the guy have some time to himself.

_Hold your horses there buddy. I'm not done with you yet. _

Jacob froze in his tracks and whipped his head around. Who said that?

_Me, of course. The guy that has been stuck in your body. _

His vision faded to black until all that he could see was a boy at about his age. He was wearing a pair of shorts and an orange t-shirt with the words "Camp Half-Blood" printed on the front and a pegasus below it. This boy looked _exactly _like him, they were even the same height for gods sake. But there was one key difference between the two, this one looked like he seen a lot more things than he did. He had a mischievous glint in his eyes that matched Travis's.

This guy was Connor Stoll.

"What are you doing here?" Jacob asked.

_Isn't it obvious? I came to get my life back. _

"Life? Excuse me, but this is my life."

_Well, it was my life in the first place. Now give it back. _

"If I give it back, then what happens to me? Do I just fade out of existence or what?"

Conner looked thoughtfully at Jacob. _I'm not really sure about that. We're basically sharing the same body. I suppose you'll be like me- stuck inside your head while observing the outside world. So you won't __**completely**__ disappear. _

"That's reassuring. How'd you get here anyway?"

_I have no idea to be honest. Just give me control of my body, I promise to take good care of it. _

"No."

_Look, since we're sharing a body I can hear your thoughts. And believe me, I know you want to help my brother find me. Just look at him! We may be only half-brothers-_

"Wait, you guys are half-brothers? I thought you were identical since you look alike."

Connor snorted. _"That's what everybody thinks the first time they see us. It just happens that we look alike and we have the same last name."_

"Oh, uh, okay."

_But I digress. Do you agree to my request or what?_

Jacob hesitated before answering. He really did want to help Travis. He didn't really have anything to lose besides the obvious. It might be interesting to look at the world through a demigod's eyes. (Yes, by now he realized that the Greek gods do exist).

"...I guess so."

_Thank you._

Jacob felt a something like electricity go through his body. He was falling into the darkness...falling…falling….falling…

* * *

When the boy opened his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar face hover above him.

Slowly, the boy got up. His head hurt and felt like t was run over by a stampede of pegasi. What happened and where was he? The last thing that he remembered was that...

"Mr. Williams? Are you okay?" A woman in a nurse's outfit dabbed a cold washcloth on his forehead. He felt like he should know this woman. "Does anything hurt?"

"I'm sorry, but are you talking to me lady?"

The woman stopped what she was doing. "Yes, of course I am. There's nobody else named Jacob Williams in this room is there?"

"My name's not Jacob though, it's Connor. Connor Stoll."

A look of disbelief briefly passed through the nurse's face. She gave the boy a stiff smile. "Very well then Mr. Stoll. Why don't you go outside? Your friends are worried sick about you."

"That would be great miss…"

"Please call me Nurse Jones. You'll be seeing me more often from now on."

"Oh, okay. Thanks for helping me off the ground Nurse Jones," said Connor.

"It's no problem dear."

Nurse Jones watched as Connor left the room to greet his friends. She heard shouts of joy and relief coming from the patients. She was happy that they found their lost friend. But it would also mean that the Jefferson Institute would have one new patient in it's walls.

* * *

_Jacob Williams, on September 5th of 2023, has been confirmed to have error semideum. His parents are to be notified about this and must be quarantined as soon as possible. His condition seems to have developed very rapidly in the span of just 7 minutes. It seems when Jacob fell unconscious, it triggered something in his body. More observations will have to confirm this._

* * *

**I only have one question to ask you guys; 1, 2, 3, or 4? **


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, I checked the reviews and saw that 2 was the most common among the numbers. Then again, I guess I should've waited more than three days to update this story to get more results. I'm impatient like that. **

**The numbers represent the amount of chapters (not counting this one) that *blank* will happen. You'll find out what that "blank" represents later. **

**This chapter doesn't really add anything to the plot, but I need a filler to move on to the next part of the story. Why? I don't know. This chapter was fun to write though (even if I thought it wasn't my best work). **

**I couldn't find a quote that fits this chapter, so that part will be blank.**

**EDIT about 5 hours after posting this: Okay, so my demon of a little sister put something that wasn't supposed to be there. I don't know if anybody noticed, but I took it out. Sorry for the convenience. **

**Disclaimer: Over my dead body I'll get the rights to PJO.**

* * *

_6:30 A.M: Rise and Shine_

Nico di Angelo was not a morning person, period. If there was one thing he hated more than monsters, it was the fact that he had to get up early in the morning. It wasn't because he was a child of Hades, it was because of all the things that go along with getting up.

"Mr. di Angelo!" a voice chirped from behind his door. "It's time to wake up! You have a big, big day ahead of you!"

Nico groaned. He hated this woman, absolutely hated her. Her name was Nurse Sunshine (yes, that was her real name). Everyday, she came to his room and woke him up. She was a happy-go-lucky kind of person, full of smiles, rainbows, and if you look in her eyes, you might even see unicorns prancing.

Every time that Nico saw her, he wanted to gouge his eyes out.

But he had to get up, whether he liked it or not. Nico grunted in response to let Nurse Sunshine know that he's moving. He threw the white sheets off his tiny bed and dressed in the institution's clothing (light-blue, loose fitting, shirt and pants). He rubbed his neck to get the chinks out of it (hospital beds are hard).

He picked up the marble journal that he kept beside his beds. Apparently he was supposed to write his dreams in it. All patients were required to this so the doctors can analyze if they're showing psychopathic/suicidal tendencies. Nico really didn't see the point of this since he rarely had any dreams. But lately he has been hearing...voices.

No way he was going to write that in the journal. If he did that, than he'll be kept in this hell hole for even longer. It was probably nothing anyway.

Right when he finished dressing, Nurse Sunshine intruded into his room carrying his medication- just like every morning since he got here. She was dressed in a more colorful version of the nurse's uniform and her blonde hair was neatly tucked in a bun.

She opened up the caps and put 2 white capsules in the palm of her hand. "Good morning Mr. di Angelo! Time to take your medicine. Open up!" she said sunnily.

Despite that this medication was supposed to be "helping" him, it never really had much of an effect. Maybe it's because he wasn't insane. Still, Nico took it to appease the nurse. She was _really_ scary when she got mad.

Nurse Sunshine inspected his mouth to make sure that he swallowed the pills. When she found none, she gently patted the Nico's dark hair. "What a good boy! If you keep taking your medication, then you'll be out of here in no time flat!"

Nico just grunted in response. He just wanted to get this over with and moved on with his monotonous day.

_7:30 A.M: Breakfast_

Ever since the schizophrenic patients came to the Jefferson Institute, breakfast has become more…chaotic. And by that, I mean more chaotic than usual. Add to the fact that they kept sacrificing their food in the oven and you got a scene that's even more unusual.

One day Nurse Jones decided to confront them about this.

"Oh, every time we eat, we have to sacrifice the best part of our meal to the gods," Percy answered. "It's sort of like tradition. Besides, it helps keep them on our side. Wherever they are."

She couldn't really answer to a response like that. So she just nodded and added another entry in her ever growing notebook.

Today was Tuesday, which meant that the breakfast was pancakes. For a mental institution, the cooks made delightfully delicious pancakes. They came in all kinds of flavors, banana, chocolate-chip, blueberry, you name it they have it.

Saying that the lunch room was loud was the biggest understatement anybody could make.

The tables were filled to the end with various (and possibly dangerous) patients. Some of them were chatting with their friends, others were muttering incoherent phrases. Occasionally, a patient would have a mental breakdown and break the closest object near them. Otherwise than that, it was relatively normal.

If you don't count table number 12 that is.

"Ha! We win again! Give it here guys!"

Mumbling various responses, the other people at the table grudgingly gave the Stoll Brothers their breakfast.

"Hey, no fair. You guys totally cheated!" Percy said. He took one more bite of his blueberry pancakes before handing them over to Travis.

Hazel shrugged. "I didn't really understand this game. I'm not that hungry either." She pushed her plate towards them.

"The same with me," Nico added. He secretly thought that Mythomagic was a better game than poker, even if he hadn't played it in a while.

Clarisse gave them a more violent response.

"No way in hell am I giving this to you!" She threw her food at Connor's face. It would've hit him if he hadn't ducked at the very last second. It flew over the boy's head and hit another patient square in the back.

All hell broke out after that.

You see, the guy that Clarisse accidentally hit was one of those patients with psychopathic tendencies. He was starting to get better, maybe even out of the Jefferson Institute. He was fine as long as something doesn't hit him. And Clarisse did exactly that.

An all out food fight out between the patients. Breakfast foods were being thrown randomly all over the place. No one was safe, not even the doctors who rushed into the scene trying to restrain them.

Hazel dodged an orange that flew out of no where. "Uh guys, shouldn't we get out of here?" Her eyes focused on a woman chasing some doctors with a plastic fork. She noticed that it was the same woman that she talk to during Community Group.

"Agreed," Connor said.

The group of demigods then proceeded to quietly exit the breakfast room, with the Stoll Brothers laughing about the mess, Clarisse disappointed, and Nico slightly annoyed.

_9:00 A.M: Community Group_

Hazel liked this time. It made her feel a little bit normal in comparison to the others. Many people are here for various different reasons. Some have depression, others for eating disorders. During a "normal" meeting, they would discuss the rules and regulations of the Jefferson Institute (no going to the bathroom for more than 10 minutes, sharp weapons are not allowed, discussing former crimes, etc.).

She also made many new friends during Community Group. One of these friends was a young woman named Melinda Rogers. She was very tall and had bright red hair. It should also be noted that she has bipolar disorder. But despite this, Hazel found that Melinda made pleasant company to talk to (when she wasn't screaming and crying that is).

"Okay!" the moderator, Nurse Hart, said cheerfully. "Good morning everyone, I'm glad that all of you could make it. Let's start by sharing some experiences shall we?"

The group was arranged in a circle so we went in order starting from where the nurse was.

A boy shared how he attempted to commit suicide by swallowing a dozen Tylenol pills, but all it did was give him a really bad stomach ache.

Another person said how they were bulimic and was on a special diet commissioned by the institution.

A third person added that he was in here for being a sociopath and already killed 3 people. The people next to him didn't even bother to hide the screeching noise that their chairs made.

It went on and on for this until the very last person, Hazel was left. She shared her story about being born into the 1930's, a daughter of Pluto, etc.

When Hazel was done, she earned herself a few stares and snickers. Hazel was confused. Surely her story can't sound that farfetched could it?

_10:45 A.M: Meeting with Your Psychiatrist_

Dr. Plotnick rubbed his temples.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't just change her violent behavior. It was quite embarrassing, he was the leading specialist in handling anger management problems. How come he couldn't fix this one?

The doctor sunk into his chair. He was getting too old for this. Yes, he should go on a vacation. Perhaps somewhere tropical and relaxing. Wasn't Hawaii nice during this time of year? With his paycheck, he could probably afford 5 trips to Hawaii.

"I'm here doc," Clarisse said. She put her feet on his desk, causing irritated expressions to form on the doctor's face.

"Miss La Rue," Dr. Plotnick said in the calmest voice that he had. "This is the second food fight that you started this week. Explain yourself. And kindly please put your feet _off _my desk."

The girl rolled her eyes but complied. "I was playing poker with my friends. You know that guy Connor Stoll? Well, he cheated and unfairly took away my breakfast."

"It could be possible that he hadn't cheated. Did you think of that before throwing your breakfast at him?"

"But it was so obvious!" Clarisse argued. "He totally deserved what he got."

"Clarisse, remember that conversation I had with you when we first met? The one about explosive people vs. implosive people?"

"Sort of. Why?"

Dr. Plotnick cleared his throat and began to go into his lecture-mode. "Remember Clarisse there are two types of people in this world; explosive and implosive. Implosive is that quiet person who sits in the corner and finally shoots all the people around him. Explosive is that person who, well, explodes at every little thing that happens. You're explosive."

When he was finished, he found Clarisse picking her nails with a pencil- not paying any attention to a word that he just said.

Something snapped within the doctor.

"You know what? Fuck this! I can't take this anymore!" Dr. Plotnick yelled. He had a maniacal glint in his eyes. "Fuck you and you, and everyone in this goddamned hospital! I don't need anyone in here. I don't need anybody." A crazy laugh escaped from his mouth. "Good day Miss La Rue! I hope you rot in hell!" The doctor took off his shirt and threw it on the ground. He then ran out of the room screaming "I'm free! I'm free!"

Clarisse watched him as he went out. "Geez, and he said I had anger issues."

_12:00 P.M: Lunch_

One of the patients offered the Stoll Brothers coffee with extra sugar.

The rest is self-explanatory.

_4:00 P.M: Visitation Hour_

Percy hated when this time came around. His "parents," Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins, would always visit him and attempt to try and get their son back. Occasionally, his "friends" would join them too. And every time that they came, he always gave the same answer: "No, I'm sorry. I am not your son John Hopkins." They would then leave with disappointed expressions on their faces and sometimes with tears. Really, the whole thing was basically a guilt trip for Percy.

The man shook Percy by the shoulders. "Look, we'll give you anything, anything that you want. Just _please _come back Johnny!" What made it even worse was that the Hopkin's family looked eerily like Percy, if he had a family. Mr Hopkins looked like an older version of Percy, just with stubble. They both had raven-black and hair and sea-green eyes. They even had that clueless glint that annabeth sometimes mentioned that he had. It was impossible to deny that they were father and son.

His wife was already in tears. "Oh Robert, this is hopeless. We just have to accept the fact that our son is gone and is replaced with this monstrosity!" She jabbed her thumb at Percy.

Mr. Hopkins patted her shoulder encouragingly. "I guess you're right this time around honey. We just have to wait, perhaps he'll get better...someday." He looked at Percy with dark eyes. "Look, we're sorry for bothering you Mr. Jackson. If there is a change in your behavior, well, you know where to find us. Good day."

He picked up Mrs. Hopkins and tried to drag her away from the boy. But she kicked and screamed. Calling out for her beloved son.

Percy looked at them with sad eyes and gave them the same response that he always did. "No, I'm sorry. I am not your son John Hopkins."

That was the last time that they ever visited.

_8:00-9:00 P.M: Free Time_

Free time was the most looked forward time of day. Here, everyone was laughing and smiling- like one big, happy, insane, family. Percy usually got over one of his "moods" during this time and was currently engaged in a ping-pong match with another patient. He was losing 7-0, but he didn't seem to mind.

Travis and Connor Stoll were in a corner, laughing and snickering at a piece of paper. They were probably planning out their next prank.

Clarisse was challenging a buff, muscle-ly, patient to yet another arm wrestling match. Beads of seat were running down their faces. A crowd formed around them placing bets on who would be the winner. It was unclear who would actually win. A few minutes later though, Clarisse slammed her opponents hand onto the table yelling out "Victory!" This made he poor man cry (he was emotionally unstable) and he ran out of the room.

Nico and Hazel looked like they were having a pleasant chat with Melinda Rogers, who seemed to calm down after the breakfast scene.

During this time, the teenagers felt like like they were normal. Like nothing changed at all. Indeed, life was good during this time.

_10:00 P.M: Lights Out_

A doctor shouts out "light's out!" The lights begin to flicker in the patient's room and then turn off completely. This order was followed by a couple of groans from the insomniacs.

Under the supervision of the doctors, they took their nightly medication. Slowly the patients begin to drift off to a deep, medicated slumber.

The hospital staff began to pack up their things and are finally heading home after a long day of working.

Except for Nurse Jones that is.

Right when she was about to leave the Jefferson Institution, she got a page from Dr. Rinaldi. Letting out an annoyed sigh, she rushed up to his office wondering what the heck did he want with her at this hour.

"Yes, Dr. Rinaldi? Do you need anything?" Nurse Jones asked. She was breathing heavily for the elevators and escalators were turned off and she had to use the stairs to get here.

The doctor swiveled in his chair to face her. "We have a new patient diagnosed with _error semideum _coming in from California."

Nurse Jones raised an eyebrow. "Another one from California? There must be something about that area that makes it so...unique. What's his/her name?"

Dr. Rinaldi slid a file towards her. "His name is Ryan McGill. He's 17 years old. "

The woman opened the file and quickly scanned the contents. When she was finished, she snapped the file closed. "Thank you doctor. I'll notify the other patients first thing in the morning."

"I'm sure you will Nurse Jones. Good night."

"Good night Dr. Rinaldi."

* * *

As Nurse Jones walked down to the first floor she examined the files again. "Octavian Anderson, legacy of Apollo. I'm sure the others would be overjoyed to hear another one of their friends have been found."

* * *

**I know a left a bunch of holes in the schedule, but that was because I couldn't think of anything else to fill them in with. Was Octavian's last name ever revealed in the Heroes of Olympus? If not, then I hope you guys are fine with the surname "Anderson." **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.**

* * *

_When dealing with the insane, the best method is to pretend to be sane._

_-Hermann Hesse_

* * *

Octavian was not feeling the love.

It has been a couple of weeks since he arrived at the Jefferson Institution. He arrived at around 2:00 P.M. Octavian entered the lobby where all his other "companions" were waiting with for boarding looks on their faces.

"...And that's why we're all going to die," Percy said.

"Or if he's going to die. Whichever comes first," Hazel added.

Octavian felt slightly offended when he heard that statement. Sure he wanted to start a war between the Greeks and the Romans and destroy them completely, but he wanted to get some supporters while at it.

The blonde thought he would at least see a little bit of compassion from his colleagues. Okay, maybe not from those filthy Greeks, but at least Hazel would right?

He couldn't be farther off the point.

From what Octavian figured, they were still pretty mad about what he did last year. Or 13 years ago since it was 2023. Seriously, what did it matter? It was nauseating to be around the traitors. Every time that he saw their faces, he wanted to throw up. It didn't help that a brown-haired nurse kept watching his every movement.

It was creepy and unsettling. At least Hazel was kind enough to inform him of the rules and regulations of the Jefferson Institution. Apparently, this was the nurse's job to record every freaking thing that they did. The others gotten used to it pretty quickly, but it took a long time for Octavian. She took down notes every time that he interacted with the others. Octavian wanted to know what exactly she was writing about. But he was an augur, not a mind reader.

And where were the gods anyway?

Octavian knew that they weren't supposed to intervene in mortal affairs, but he hadn't heard anything from them at all. Not even when he sacrificed some guy's teddy bear back in California. There was no sign, not even a grey cloud. There was nothing to even suggest that the gods were even listening to him.

Something was very, very wrong here. This itself raised a lot of questions in Octavian's mind. And Octavian needed to get to the bottom of this because those fools aren't doing anything.

He thought about this for a moment. Octavian needed to get out of here, to find the answers to his questions. But how?

The security in this place was top notch. Security cameras and officers were everywhere. Not only that, Octavian had to be _escorted_ to place to place. Escaping seemed virtually impossible.

But, if Octavian learned anything from his time at Camp Jupiter, it was that _nothing _was impossible. You just had to try and attempt it. The worst thing that could happen was that he would get captured and his medication would be slightly increased. He quickly realized that the medication didn't really affected him much.

There was one problem though.

He couldn't do this by himself. Octavian hated to admit it, but he needed help. Even if most of the people here hated his guts, odds are, at least one of them wanted to escape right?

Octavian scanned the group of demigods before him, trying to find the perfect candidate to team up with.

Percy Jackson was definitely out. He wouldn't leave the Jefferson Institution even if it did save his life.

Hazel Levesque was a viable teammate. But she was much too nice for what he had in store. Nico di Angelo was also out. The son of Hades made it clear that he didn't like Octavian a long time ago.

Then there were Travis and Connor Stoll. This was the first time that he got to meet them face to face. Since they were sons of Hermes, they were quick and good at stealing stuff- something that Octavian needed. Sadly, they weren't to his taste. They were much too unprofessional plus they were friends with Percy Jackson. Something about them made Octavian feel that they were going to botch his master plan if he joined forces with them.

Last but not least, there was Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares.

She was an...interesting candidate. She looked like she could handle herself in any situation. Not only that, she was a daughter of _Ares. _Octavian would've preferred Mars than Ares any time, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She looked like a good strategist and was probably strong too. Besides, what could possibly be difference? And she hated Percy too! Bonus points for her.

It was decided then. Octavian would choose Clarisse to be his partner in crime.

Cautiously, Octavian walked up the the girl. As if he were a hunter stalking a wild animal**. **

"Excuse me Miss La Rue," Octavian politely asked. "May I speak with you for a moment?" He lightly tapped on her shoulder.

And nearly got punched.

He quickly ducked to avoid the impact. "Ah! Please don't hurt me!" Octavian put his hands up to cover his face.

"Oh. It's you," Clarisse huffed. "Octopus was it?"

"Uh, no. My name's Octavian, legacy of Apollo, augur of Camp Jupiter," the boy proudly proclaimed. He stood up straighter and puffed up his chest.

Clarisse seemed unimpressed. "Never heard of you. Now what do you want?"

The boy's cheeks turned red. (How come she never heard of him?) Nevertheless, he continued. Octavian lowered his voice down to a whisper. "I have a plan, and I need your help to accomplish it. Are you willing to help?"

"Depends, what do you need help with?"

Octavian let out a slow, wide, grin. "Why to escape of course. We can't exactly do anything if we're stuck in this place. Don't you want to find your brothers and sisters? Or perhaps a lost love?"

Clarisse froze. Chris...she hadn't heard anything from him since the day she "woke" up. He has never left her mind since then. Sure he might be useless when it comes to fighting and a bit crazy, but she still cared for him. Really, the only thing that prevented Clarisse from knocking out Travis and Connor Stoll out was because of Chris.

"...Alright I'm in. What's our first step?"

Octavian's grin grew even wider. Clarisse had a feeling this was going to end bad for the both of them. "I'll tell you." He whispered the plan to Clarisse's ear.

Her eyes widened, but they had a hint of grudging admiration in them. "It's crazy, but it just might work."

* * *

Nurse Jones sighed. The day was almost over and she just wanted to go back to her nice and cozy house. But she had one more patient to take care of, one very important patient.

As she walked to her room, she couldn't feel a bit guilty. They had a right to know about this right? Right? No… it was much too dangerous to let them know. Too risky. Who knows what would happen if she was to let her anywhere near them? The patient was at risk of hurting herself and others.

Yes, she was doing the right thing. When she gets better, she'll let her out and pretend to act as if she just got here. Then everything would be alright, everything would be okay. They didn't need to know.

Slowly, Nurse Jones opened the metal door to the patient's room. There was a single light source coming from a lamp on the desk. The white walls were covered in unreadable scribbles. Most of the writing said "I am…" or "My name is…" then it would just leave out from there, or the words following it would be crossed off. Papers were also scattered across the padded floor, with the same statement written on it.

"Victoria dear? I'm here to observe and give you your medication alright? I'll be out in a second, so please cooperate with me."

In the center of the room, was a girl. She was rocking back and forth muttering something unintelligible. Her blonde hair was messy and unkempt, as if she had been pulling it from the strands.

When Nurse Jones, first met this girl, she couldn't believe her eyes. She came from a mental hospital in Virginia. From the moment she was born, her parents knew that she had a problem. But since it wasn't a _major _problem, they decided to let her live a normal life.

Until recently, the only disease that she had was multiple personality disorder. She had two personalities, one was the Victoria herself. The other one was a tad more...sinister. It was what landed her in a mental hospital in the first place. Doctors have named the other personality "Eva."

But a couple of months ago, when she turned 17, she showed signs of another personality. This one was more different than the other two. Because of this new development, Victoria was secretly transported to the Jefferson Institute. In fact, Nurse Jones only knew of her existence for a couple of weeks.

For now, she had been assigned to keep an eye on her and record her movements.

_Victoria Collins's condition is as normal as ever. No significant changes have been developed over the past couple of days. She seems to responding to the medication. It is unclear what the results will be. Her behavior has gotten calmer, much improvement from the last time that I saw her. She's staying as "Victoria," for more longer periods of time. _

Nurse Jones quietly walked up to the girl. "Okay Victoria, it's time to take your medication.. Can you open your mouth for me?"

Victoria lifted up her head, grey eyes filled with annoyance. "My name's not Victoria its-"

Oh. She was in _that _personality. Nurse Jones wondered how much she will last until the other one takes over? "Yes I know. Just please take your medication honey. It will help you get better."

The girl sighed. "If it will get me out of here more faster so that I can find them." She obediently opened her mouth so that Nurse Jones can put the pills in her mouth.

"There. Now wasn't that so bad was it?"

Already the girl's eyes were drooping. "I-I suppose so…" She was beginning to nod off. "Can I ask you a question?"

The nurse gave a strained smile. She knew what the question was going to be, and was prepared to answer it. "Yes dear?"

"Where is…"The girl didn't finish. She was already slumped on the floor, unconscious.

"Hmm, she only lasted for a minute. Interesting. That's improvement." The nurse picked her up from the ground and laid her on her bed.

Nurse Jones then quietly slipped out of the room and securely locked the metal door in its place.

_The medication that I gave her is working more successfully than we had initially thought. Eva has barely shown up, but the other personality is taking longer to go away. But she is slowly receding from Victoria's mind. She will soon be healthy enough to go into the outside world, after a long 5 years. _

Nurse Jones felt slightly wrong about doing this. He did promise the boy that she would find his friend did she not? Then again, its possible that he might not even know her. There was a reason why they were in a mental hospital.

But the girl's ramblings...they coincided with his. It was simply impossible, like all the other cases. They talk about the same things and it seemed to make sense if you look at it closely. She was locked up for a long time and barely knew what was happening around the world- much less experienced them. She said it with such a serious face, it was hard not to believe her.

The nurse shook her head. She was probably tired, that's all. It was late and she needed some sleep. After a good, long rest, this will all be over.

But she couldn't help think, "Perhaps they're not insane at all."

* * *

**I tried to write Octavian, and I think I messed up his personality a little bit. He isn't that OOC isn't he? **

**If you couldn't guess who that "girl" was, then I have failed you as a writer. This has got to be one of the best chapters I ever written in this story. I'm quite proud of this one. **

**Next chapter will have the back-story of Victoria, which will (hopefully), clear some things up. There _will_ be some blood involved, so be warned.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Wow. I did not expect to get 50 reviews in 8 chapters. Thank you! :D If you haven't noticed, I posted a new story to celebrate this occasion. It's already pre-written. It's going to be short though, only three chapters. Check it out. **

**I had to read some scary stories and listen to some creepy music to get in the mood to write this story. This better be worth it because I couldn't sleep for THREE days. At the end, the "blank" that I mentioned two chapters ago appears. **

**In other news, starting Monday, Spring Break has started! I'm going on a vacation for the next week so don't expect any updates until after. But I'll get right back to writing as soon as its over. **

**Disclaimer: Don't rub in the fact that I don't own the rights to Percy Jackson.**

* * *

_If I show you then I know you_

_Won't tell what I said_

_'Cause two can keep a secret_

_If one of them is dead. _

_-Secret, By the Pierces_

* * *

Richmond, Virginia.

July 12th, 2018.

Victoria Collins was happy, more happier than she had ever been in her life. Today was a special celebration- and it wasn't because it was her birthday today. It was because Eva hasn't shown up in SIX months! She has never been this absent for this amount of time, and Victoria was happy about that. Perhaps now she can go make friends.

She did have _one _friend. Her name was Emma Porter. Though she didn't come around a lot since she lived so far away. But every time she came, they would always play together and would have lots of fun! Her mom didn't like Victoria very much. Whenever Mrs. Porter would visit, she would always glare at the little girl and call her "The Devil."

This wasn't true- to an extent. Victoria herself wasn't the devil. It was just Eva. Little, crazy, psychopathic Eva. When she took control, she would always make the other kids cry and then all the blame would go on Victoria. She hated it when she did that! It just wasn't fair.

But everything was fine, everything was okay. Eva didn't show up and that was perfect.

Victoria smoothed down the white dress she was wearing and twirled her blonde hair. Her mother brought this dress just for her, to celebrate. It had a lacy hem and it was had a big, blue ribbon tied around her waist.

She wondered if Emma was coming. She did promise that she would the last time they met. Oh if she did, then this day would turn out even better! Victoria swung her feet around while musing about what they would do. Maybe they can go to the nearby park and play on the swings, or do each other's makeup, or...

"Victoria!" her mother yelled. "Come down and help me set up the table would you?"

"In a minute mom!" the girl yelled back. She took out two pills from her dresser and swallowed them quickly. Victoria then ran down the stairs to help her mom.

It only took a couple of minutes since the girl was bouncing with energy. By the time she was done, the dining room was filled with the scent of flowers and gleaming silverware was set neatly on the white table cloth.

There was a knock at the door. "Hello?" a young girl's voice called out. "Anybody here? We're here for Victoria's birthday party!"

Victoria smiled. So she did keep her promise after all. The girl ran up to the front door and flung it open. There was her friend, Emma, in a light pink dress. Her brown hair was tied back with a ribbon and her blue eyes sparkled withe excitement. "Vic! It's been so long since I've seen you! How have you been? I'm doing fine."

"Great," Victoria answered. She held her friend's hands and dragged her up the stairs. "Come on, we got a lot to do!"

* * *

The girls were up in Victoria's room, painting colorful pictures with paints, colored pencils, and crayons. White canvas paper was splattered with spots ranging from regular old purple, to Jazzberry Jam. Victoria's clean, white dress was spotted with vibrant colors. So far, this has been one of the best days of her life.

Victoria was having the most wonderful time until she felt a sense of dread forming inside of her. The girl frowned. It felt familiar. Almost like….

Her eyes widened. No, no, no, no, NO! This can't be happening! After all these months, Victoria thought she was gone. Gone forever.

The feeling was growing stronger and stronger, almost to the point where she can hear her laughing. Soon, Eva will take over and who knows what will happen then? She tried to distance herself from Emma. Victoria didn't want her to get caught up in this. Emma will think that she's a monster, just like the other kids. And then Victoria will be all alone again.

Emma noticed the panicky expression starting to form on Victoria's face. "Vic, are you okay? You look pale."

Victoria forced a smile. She didn't want her to know. "I'm fine Emma. There's nothing to worry about." She felt a stab of pain go through her body. "Hey, can you go into my cabinet? There should be a bottle of pills. Can you get it for me. Please?"

_You know that won't work dear Victoria. I was always here, and I will get back. Nothing can stop me. _

"Uh, sure," Emma answered. She walked over to the cabinet and began searching for the pills. What are they for anyway?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just need to take them monthly." Another stab of pain. This one more stronger than the others. Victoria winced, but she kept a smile on her vision was starting to get blurry... "Can you hurry up?"

Emma held up an orange bottle. "Found it!" She tossed the medication into Victorias hands.

_Look at all these colors. Orange, yellow, green... Do you know what's my favorite color? _

The girl clumsily shook out the pills out into her hand. Her vision was getting darker and darker. Each burst of pain brought tears out of her eyes. C'mon, just a little bit longer…

"Victoria, are you okay?" Emma worriedly asked. Her brown eyes were filled with concern. "You look that you're crying. Are you sure that you're okay?"

_It's red. Beautiful, gorgeous, red. This plain, white room needs a little color. And I'm going to paint it in red. _

Victoria gave Emma a pitying smile. "I'm sorry. I should've told you my secret earlier. And perhaps, you wouldn't be in this mess." She held back Eva as long as should could. But the girl's fate was sealed. There was nothing that Victoria could do.

She hoped that Eva would take pity on Emma.

Of course, she did no such thing.

...

Eva opened her eyes. Oh how good it was to be free! She's been restrained in that pathetic girl's body for months on end. Now that she had control of the body, she can make Victoria pay for locking her up for so long.

And she'll start with Miss Emma Porter.

Emma locked at "Victoria" with fear in her eyes. "Vic, why are your eyes so red? And why do you have that creepy grin on your face?"

Eva tilted her head and let out out a giggle- a cruel, childish like giggle. "Oh? Is that your nickname for her? How cute. But your friend is not here Emma. Only I am. Didn't she tell you?"

"What do you mean? We tell everything to each other," the girl answered. Emma had a feeling that she should be running away now. But this was her friend was it not? Friends wouldn't run away from each other…

"I see. So Victoria didn't tell you," Eva mused. "All the better for me." She picked up a pair of scissors that were laying right next to her and spun it around her fingers. "Emma? How about we play paint something together hm?"

"...Paint what?" Emma hesitantly said.

Eva's grin grew wider, almost like the Chesire Cat. "The room. It's so plain and white. I was thinking that we should paint it in red. Your red."

"My...red…?"

Eva walked slowly to the girl, scissors pointed directly at her neck. Emma backed into a corner, fear and confusion in her eyes.

"Victoria? What are you doing? Please stop! You're scaring me," Emma cried. Her back hit the wall. She realized that there was no where to go, no where to escape.

Eva was amused at the girl's cries. There was nothing that would save her, nothing that would change what would happen next. Eva was looking forward to this for a long time. she was tired of merely scaring the children. As much as she like to hear them scream, Eva was tired of such…amateur acts. She was ready to move on to the next level, starting with this girl.

In a flash, Eva lunged at the girl- slicing the weapon across Emma's pretty, white neck. The blood splattered on the walls and on Eva's clothes. But the girl didn't care, there was this rush to killing. It was addictive and it felt so good. Every time Eva plunged the scissors in the girl's body, more blood splurted out. Glorious blood, the most brilliant shade of crimson.

Emma didn't even get a chance to scream. She couldn't really since she was choking on her own blood. At each plunge, tears poured out of her eyes. She just wanted the pain to end. Why would her friend do this? Was this the secret that she mentioned about? If so, why didn't she tell her? Best friends were supposed to tell everything to each other right? Right?

Eva stood over Emma's limp, but still breathing body. She has got to admit it, this girl was strong. Unfortunately, that wouldn't help her to prepare for what would happen next. She could see her tears mixing in with the blood on her face, creating small little designs on her cheeks.

With one, last final plunge of the scissors, Eva ended the girl's life. Emma let out one last breath. At last she was dead. Her once vibrant blue eyes were glassy and lifeless. The area around her was covered with the blood, blood on the walls, blood on the floor, and some of it even made it to the ceiling.

Eva licked her fingers, which was also covered with the crimson liquid. It tasted sharp and metallic- her favorite things. She examined her work. It was perfect absolutely perfect. But it needed something...something to let them know.

She picked up a paint brush and dipped it in the red liquid. She set it on the right wall since it was still clean and pure, and then began to write. When Eva was done, she retreated into Victoria's body. Her work was done for now, it was time for Victoria to clean up the mess that Eva made.

…

Victoria opened her eyes. And instantly wished that she didn't. Her friend, her one and only friend was lying face up in the pool of her own blood. It was her worst nightmare come true.

"Emma? Emma!" Victoria sobbed. "Please tell me that you're alive please! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I should've told you earlier. Why didn't I tell you?"

"Victoria? Come down here!" Mrs. Collins opened the door to the bedroom. "It's time to say-" The woman stopped midway into her sentence and screamed.

Victoria looked at her mother with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry mom. I didn't mean it. It was Eva! She did it, it wasn't my fault she did it!"

"What's going on up here?" Mrs. Porter stomped upstairs to see what was happening. Her eyes were filled with annoyance. When she saw the scene before her, Mrs. Porter screamed too. "My baby! What happened!" Her eyes tried to find something to blame this on, and it finally focused on Victoria. "You! You did this to Emma!" she shrieked.

Victoria didn't deny the mother's accusations. If she told Emma her secret, then maybe this whole thing wouldn't happen at all. It was her fault…her fault…

Mrs. Collins had a different reaction from her companion. Instead of freaking out, she gently held her daughter, gently rubbing her head and whispering "Shh...it's going to be okay, everything's going to be okay."

"Okay? Your monster of a daughter just killed mines. So no, it;s not going to be okay! She deserves to be punished, preferably with the death penalty," Mrs. Porter said.

"Look, I know that you are aware of Victoria's condition," Mrs. Collins reasoned. "But the girl just turned 12. How about instead of sending her to her death for some thing that she did not do and come up with a better solution?"

Mrs. Porter sniffed. "...I suppose so. But I want to send her far away, preferably out of Virginia so she won't hurt anybody."

Mrs. Collins looked at her daughter, who was still crying over the loss of her friend. She didn't deny it, Victoria had problems. Problems that even with today's technology, it couldn't even fix it. She had a friend that worked at a nearby mental hospital and she could send Victoria there. Mrs. Collins sighed. She loved Victoria, she really did. But now was the time to let her go.

"Very well then," the woman answered. "I'll send her to a hospital, where hopefully, she would get better." She picked up Victoria. "Would you kindly please call the police? I'm afraid that there is no way that we can cover this up."

Mrs. Porter whipped out her cellphone. "Already on it."

The other woman nodded. Before she left the room, something caught her eye. Mrs. Collins growled. If only she could get rid of the devil inside her beloved daughter's body. Turning her back to the room, she swiftly walked down the stairs.

On the right wall, there was too words. Two mocking, taunting words.

_I'm back._

* * *

Percy Jackson woke up in cold sweat. He was breathing heavily and his heart rate was going a million hours an hour. The boy shook his head. It was just a dream...again. Ever since he came to the Jefferson Institution, he had these weird, and bloody dreams. Usually involving a girl that looked liked Annabeth and another girl.

He shook his head. Well, he was used to some crazy-ass dreams. But this one was crazier than the others. It was unnerving. Was this a sign from the gods? And why did it show Annabeth every time?

Every time it came, Percy would think about this. His theory was confirmed when Connor Stoll "woke" up from being Jacob Williams. Perhaps this is showing Annabeth as "Victoria Collins?" The girl didn't seem to be aware that she was housing the soul of his girlfriend. But this took place in the past, maybe she had woken up already? If so, then where was she?

This dream lasted a bit longer than most. It would usually end with Victoria being dragged away by officers. Instead, it ended with a girl that most definitely looked like Annabeth going into an armored car and getting out on very _familiar _grounds.

The grounds of the Jefferson Institution to be exact.

Percy flopped onto his bed. If this was true, then Annabeth would be here wouldn't she? But where? Just before the dream ended, a person was walking up to her. The person was holding a black journal, but that was as far as he got.

Normally Percy would keep this to himself, but he wanted to know more. According to his dream, Annabeth was dropped off at the Jefferson Institution. He didn't really the layout of this place since he rarely went by himself. But Percy knew someone who did.

It was confirmed. Percy Jackson would ask Nurse Jones tomorrow if she knows anything.

* * *

**The beginning was absolute crap, I tried to write from a 12 year old's perspective. As you can see, it didn't really work out. But I had fun writing the murder scene. I was getting lazy toward the end and decided to cut it off from there. I think Percy wrapped up what happened next nicely. **

**I can't write grieving people. AT ALL. So if you think that the mothers recovered quickly after seeing a dead body, well there's your reason. **

**If you would rate the quality of this chapter from 1 to 10, with 10 representing "OH MY GODS IT WAS AWESOME" and 1 representing "words cannot possibly describe my hatred for this chapter," what would you rate it? **


	10. Chapter 10

**-in a sing song-y voice- I'm back! did you guys miss me? My vacation was absolutely wonderful and I had so much fun!**

**I was bombarded with school work since I came back and I haven't really been thinking about this until today. I wrote this entire thing in five hours, including proofreading this.**

**This (without the bold): means Nico's responses to his other personality by the way.**

**Disclaimer: See other 9 chapters.**

* * *

_It started out as a feeling_

_Which then grew to hope_

_Which then grew into a quiet thought_

_Which then turned into a quiet word_

_And then that word grew louder and louder_

_'Til it was a battle cry_

_I'll come back when you call me_

_No need to say goodbye_

_-The Call, by Regina Spektor_

* * *

If Nico heard any more of that voice in his head, he was going to go insane.

Since it was yet another Wednesday, they got to go outside. Currently the Italian was outside, under the shade of a tree. Usually, Mrs. O'Leary would come around and try to convey some information. Their meetings lasted only for a few minutes until the hellhound bounded away for something else.

_C'mon, just let me out._

The son of Hades scrowled. Hell to the no was he going to let his other persona take control. This was his body and he wasn't going to let a mortal have it. The voice has started to appear recently, last month to be exact. Since then, he has been bothering Nico all day to let him out.

No. Now shut up.

_Please, it's so dark and boring in here. It will be only for five minutes._

Right, "five minutes." You'll probably keep it for the next five decades.

_We're both Italian aren't we? That's got to count for something. Italians help other Italians._

Dude, that's the only thing we have in common. You're a mortal, I'm a demigod. You lived in modern day Italy, I lived in World War II Italy. Get my point now?

After he finished his response, Nico used all his energy to push pack Chris (was that his name?) back into his unconscious mind. This usually worked for about a day, but his voice would always resurface the day after. It was extremely annoying.

There was no way that Nico would tell this to anybody, not even his friends. They'll all think that he's insane- and for real this time. He might be locked up for good because of the voice. Everyday, the boy thought he would disappear for good so he won't be a bother. Of course, everyday he would appear in some form or another.

Nico buried his face into his hands. Why couldn't he have a normal life?

"Woof!"

Nico lifted his head to see a black puppy bounding towards him. Her black tail waving playfully and her red tongue hung out.

About time she showed up.

Mrs. O'Leary jumped into Nico's hands and gave him an affectionate lick on the cheek. "Woof!"

"Hey girl." Nico rubbed her head. "How've you been doing?"

She gave off a playful noise and rolled on her back so Nico could scratch it.

"I see. I'm doing well enough. Wish the doctors can give us some more freedom though," Nico grumbled. "Got any new information for me girl?"

Ever since that fateful day a couple of months ago, Nico has been gathering information from his little, furry informant here. He hasn't really told this to any of the other demigods, not even Hazel. Nico figured it wasn't anything that they needed, not at the moment anyway. He would tell them that he had an epiphany or something like that.

From what he heard from Mrs. O'Leary, the gods were "somewhere." Not here in this world but apparently in a prison of some sort. She didn't know where, or who, or what though. It was vague but it was a start at least.

She was also very useful for keeping tabs on other unawakened demigods. They were doing fine, for now. She managed to find some, three to be exact. Jason Grace and his sister- currently located in California (they were unaware that they were siblings). The other one was Frank Zhang, located in Canada. Not one of them has shown signs of error semideum so far, as the doctors called it.

_Hey, that black haired girl is kinda pretty. You'd think she'll go out with me?_

Nico groaned. He was back again and not only that, he forgot that he could hear his thoughts too. There was nothing that he could hid from Christopher.

No. First off, she's a hunter of Artemis and they hate boys. Second, if she wasn't, she still wouldn't date you.

Chris made a "pft" sound. _Nothing, not even the most stubborn woman on Earth, can resist me. Back in Italy, I was quite popular around the ladies you know._

Wonderful, he's also sharing his body with a pimp. Can this get any worse?

Mrs. O'Leary was about to say something else when she heard a noise. She made a subtle growl and in an instant, she shadow-traveled away.

Apparently yes.

"Wait, come back!" Nico cried. Realizing that the hellhound won't come back, he slumped back onto the ground.

"So this is what you've been up to huh di Angelo?" Octavian was standing to the right of Nico. He wore a cocky smile and his arms were situated on his hips. "You have something to say to me?"

Nico scowled. "Like I'll ever say anything to you."

Octavian raised an eyebrow. "I doubt you can do anything to me. It's forbidden for patients to hurt other patients. I'm the one pulling the strings here."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"I'm glad you asked that di Angelo," Octavian smirked. "So far, me and you are the only ones who witnessed you encounter with the hellhound. You held back some very vital information. I don't think that Hazel will be happy when her big brother knew the location of her boyfriend all along."

The son of Hades gritted his teeth. "Are you blackmailing me?" Nico asked.

"Yes, but I won't tell anybody if you help me with my plan."

"What plan? A plan to escape? Good luck with that. It's virtually impossible to escape from this place."

Octavian chewed his lip. "It will work, but not with your help. I already have Clarisse to help me. I will tell if you refuse me again. I'll give you three seconds to decide. Starting now."

Nico was at a fault. He really didn't want to help this bastard escape.

"Three…" Octavian drawled.

Then again, if he doesn't, then all his friends would distrust him. Nico would be all alone again. He couldn't bring himself to face the look of betrayal that Hazel might have when she found out.

"Two…"

He was truly at a predicament was he?

"One…"

"Alright, I'll help you!" Nico blurted out.

The legacy of Apollo had a triumphant smirk on his face. "Glad you could see my side of things. Let's get started shall we?" He was about to leave the area when a blaring alarm pierced their ears.

"Attention, patient Percy Jackson has just assaulted a staff member. He is considered armed and dangerous. This hospital will now be experiencing lockdown. All patients that are outside must be escorted to their room, the same goes for the patients inside. Again, the Jefferson Institute is now on lockdown."

* * *

Percy knew that he shouldn't be here.

Ever since he had that dream, he just had to go and find Annabeth. Percy had to go through a lot of things to get to this place. He asked Nurse Jones earlier, but all she said was that she didn't know.

It was obvious that she was lying.

So he had to resort to other means. Percy asked to go to the bathroom and was escorted to the room by a doctor. Immediately after he exited the room, he punched the doctor. percy made sure it wasn't strong enough to seriously hurt him, just enough to knock him out. He even yelled back a "I'm sorry!" and ran away from the scene.

Unfortunately, he set off a few alarms while doing it. The whole hospital was under lockdown and everybody was looking for him. Percy supposed he was on his own now. The only problem with that, was that Percy had no idea where he was going.

The son of Poseidon cursed. He should've at least looked at a map before he ran off. The only places that he really went to was the first and second floor. Now he was lost in a place teeming with people who want him locked up.

Percy wandered the dark hallways, looking for a place that looked like it contained his girlfriend. It wasn't easy. He was met with either a dead end, or the hospital staff. Neither were very good for him .For the people, Percy had the option to run away or knock them out. Percy had to choose the latter. He hated it. These people were only doing their job.

Several times he almost got caught, and several times her managed to escape. It was a miracle that he wasn't sedated already. Eventually, he came to a hall, this one a little bit more...ominous than the others. There was an eerie silence surrounding the place and the lights were flickering. Something told him that he shouldn't be here. But Percy figured this must be the hallway where Annabeth is at.

"You know, this is really starting to turn out like a really cliched horror movie," Percy muttered. "But it makes me feel creeped out." He tried out all the doors, but none of them wouldn't open. Finally, he ended up at the last door. Percy rolled his eyes. Of course it HAD to be that one.

He gently pushed on the door, and unsurprisingly, it was locked. But this door had a little window with in the center of it unlike the others. It was pretty high up so he had to stand on his tippy-toes. Percy couldn't really tell what was on the inside, but he did make out a humanoid-like figure on the floor. By the looks of it, it looked like it had blonde hair.

Blonde hair like Annabeth's.

Percy's heartbeat quickened. Could this be? After a long four months of waiting, did he finally found her? Percy did a double take to make sure it was Annabeth, and it was.

He tried to search the area to find an item that would open the door. It was much too thick for him to try to force it out by himself. The hallway was empty of anything useful to him. Percy groaned. He should've really anticipated that this would happen.

There was a sudden crashing noise behind him and Percy jumped at the sound of it. He turned around to see several doctors armed with syringes filled with knock out drugs. One of them was Nurse Jones, a worried expression on her face.

He was cornered. How wonderful.

"Er, this isn't what it looks like," Percy defended.

"Percy, you caused several of our staff members to go unconscious and you wreaked havoc upon the Jefferson Institute on camera," Nurse Jones reasoned. "We have every reason to sedate you and put you under 24 hour watch."

"Can I at least see the person behind this door?" He jabbed his thumb towards it. "It took a lot of effort to get here and I've been waiting to see her for a very long time…"

"I'm sorry. But I can't let you do that," the nurse cut off. "She's more unstable than the rest of the patients at this hospital and is a danger to herself and to the people around her. Now why don't you come here, peacefully and quietly so we can go back to your room? Your friends are worried about you."

Percy shook his head. "No can do, Mrs. Jones. I'm not going until I see Annabeth. That is my final answer."

Nurse Jones let out an exasperated sigh. "Then so be it." She snapped her fingers and the doctors rushed towards him.

If not for all those times that he went outside, Percy thought he wouldn't have beaten the doctors. Thanks to them, he was still able to keep in shape and his form in top condition. The doctors were tough to beat, Percy will give them that. But they were no match for a demigod that had five or six years of training under his belt.

Soon, his opponents were on the floor groaning in pain. It wasn't a pretty sight. Nurse Jones was the only one standing, but she was no match to Percy. Instead, she just relented. This situation wasn't going anywhere if she refused his demands.

"I give up, here you can have the keys," the nurse reluctantly said. She got them out of her pocket and slid them over to Percy using her feet. "Just be careful alright? Annabeth is currently stuck in a body with two other personalities. I have no guarantees that "Annabeth" will be the one in control."

"Are you telling me that she has Multiple Personality disorder?" Percy asked.

"Yes. There is a reason that I didn't tell you that she was here earlier. And now you have your reason; a very good one at that."

Percy nodded. "I guess I can see where you got that from." He slid the keys into the keyhole and gently pushed the door, careful not to make a sound. "Thanks for the keys by the way, I appreciate it."

Nurse Jones shrugged. "I was fighting a battle that I couldn't win. Might as well give it to you. Be careful while you're in there, she's mentally unstable and is quite prone to violent outbursts. I gave her medicine a few hours ago, so she should be more easier to talk to."

Percy gave the nurse a reassuring smile before entering the room.

The first thing that Percy noticed was how messy it was. Papers were scattered about on the floor. The walls were scribbled with unintelligible gibberish. Percy recognized some of them as complicated math equations. Yup, definitely Annabeth-like.

In the center of the room was a girl, a girl that looked like a slightly more messier version of Annabeth. She didn't seem to know that Percy entered her room. Tentatively, Percy reached out to her.

"Annabeth? Are you there…?"

* * *

**Yes, I'm so evil for leaving off you guys on a cliffhanger like that.**

**Vacationing for one week is hard on your brain. I had to write this five times until I was "satisfied" with it. To be honest, I'm still not satisfied with this chapter Next one should be out by next week. 'Night everyone.**


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